A Greedy Gang of Thieves

[Paramananda das]

A Greedy Gang of Thieves
Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura has narrated this astonishing pastime in Chaitanya-bhagavata (Antya-khanda 5.527–706). The leader of the gang, who had been born in a brahmana family, had rejected religious principles to associate with wicked, materialistic people and lead a sinful life of cheating, stealing, and even murder. Fortunately for him, he dwelled in the holy land of Navadvipa when Lord Nityananda was performing His pastimes there.
Lord Nityananda was residing with a devotee named Hiranya Pandita. Although Hiranya Pandita was poor, his heart was rich with pure love of God, and Lord Nityananda appreciated his company so much that He left His other associates to stay in Hiranya Pandita's home. Unlike Hiranya Pandita, the thief lacked such appreciation for the spiritual wealth of Lord Nityananda's company. He simply coveted others' material assets under the illusion that these would somehow make him happy.
One day, the thief spied Nityananda Prabhu near Hiranya Pandita’s house. He saw that the Lord wore golden bracelets, armlets, and earrings set with pearls. Necklaces made of gold, coral, jewels, and pearls adorned His beautiful body. Enchanted by such dazzling splendor, the thief craved the Lord’s wealth. He stealthily followed the Lord to ascertain His residence, and informed his companions of his great discovery.
“My dear brothers,” the thief announced. “Our days of suffering are about to end. I have seen the most valuable jewels all together in one place, on the body of Nityananda. He is staying alone in the house of Hiranya Pandita, so tonight let us go there and rob everything.”
Equipped with daggers, swords, and tridents, the thieves gathered near Hiranya Pandita’s house that evening. They were blinded by boundless materialistic ambition, and their minds were overpowered by an insatiable greed. Because of their demoniac mentality, they did not consider Nityananda Prabhu’s true identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His jewelry as an expansion of His spiritual energy. Instead, they considered Him an ordinary man and His ornaments merely matter to be conquered.

The thieves camped near Hiranya Pandita’s house and sent a spy to investigate the feasibility of their plan. The scout returned and informed the others that Nityananda was eating and His associates were awake. He could no comprehend the activities of the Lord’s associates, who were intensely engaged in sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. They exhibited symptoms of deep spiritual ecstasy, such as shivering, crying, rolling on the ground, and standing up of the bodily hairs. The spy could see these activities only as a momentary impediment to his sense gratification.
The thieves decided to wait a few hours and approach the house later, when they presumed the Lord would be asleep. In the meantime, they dreamed of the wealth they expected to attain, each claiming a different ornament as his own.
The Thieves Fall Asleep
Lord Nityananda, being the Supreme Personality of Godhead Balarama, is fully endowed with spiritual strength (bala). As the first expansion of Krishna’s spiritual energy, Nityananda has all of Krishna’s potencies, and so He perfectly understood the thieves’ sinful intentions. Through His mystic power, He caused them to fall asleep, and they slept deeply through the night. When they awakened suddenly to the squawking of crows, the sun was already high in the sky.
The thieves furtively returned to their homes and then quarreled, each accusing the other of falling asleep and ruining their plan. Then their leader pacified them, attributing everything to the will of Goddess Durga, the demigoddess in control of the material nature. He conjectured that Durga had bewildered them because they neglected to worship her. Thus, the thieves offered meat and wine to Durga and then again set out to rob Lord Nityananda, unaware that Mother Durga is merely an agent of the Supreme Lord.
When the thieves approached Hiranya Pandita’s house, they saw fierce giant soldiers guarding the four directions and loudly chanting the holy names of the Lord: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The thieves observed that each soldier wielded many weapons and was powerful enough to kill a hundred people in an instant. Utterly mystified, they quickly left the vicinity and sat down together to discuss this strange sight.
“Where have these giant soldiers come from?” the thieves wondered. Someone suggested that Nityananda might have arranged for His own protection, since many people said that He was very wise. Their leader scoffed at the idea and determined that the guards must be the entourage of an influential government official, and he decided to wait a few days before making another attempt.
After ten days, the thieves gathered together for a third time, each carrying five or ten weapons. As soon as they approached Hiranya Pandita’s house, they went blind—which seems appropriate when one considers that they were already spiritually blind. Then they fell into various situations that made them cry out of agony and fear. Some of the thieves fell into a ditch and were bitten by leeches, mosquitoes, and bees. Others fell into a heap of garbage and were stung by swarms of scorpions. Others fell on thorns, which pierced their bodies so that they couldn't move, while others fell into a hole and broke their limbs.
Then Indra, the king of the demigods, sent a fierce storm with heavy rains, lightning, and sharp hailstones, and the thieves shivered with extreme cold. Although Indra holds a high post as a universal administrator, he is but a servant of the Supreme Lord. He realized that the thieves had come to rob Nityananda, and punished them out of anger.
A Change of Heart
Suddenly, in the midst of this terrifying storm, the leader of the thieves experienced a change of heart. He understood that Nityananda Prabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and regretted his plans to harm Him. He prayed for forgiveness and took complete shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet.
“Who can protect me from this great danger?” the thief prayed. “I have no shelter other than Nityananda.”
He declared that his only desire was to become the servant of the Lord, whether he lived or died. Upon seeing the thief’s sincerity, Lord Nityananda relieved the gang from their suffering and restored their eyesight.
The head thief returned to Hiranya Pandita’s house. When he saw the glorious form of Nityananda Prabhu, he cried out to the Lord for protection and fell at His feet. Because Lord Nityananda had blessed him with ecstatic love of God, the hairs of his body stood on end, and he laughed, cried, and rolled on the ground, unable to speak. Eventually, he came to external consciousness and confessed everything to Lord Nityananda. He marveled how the Lord had delivered all the thieves from their suffering, and then acknowledged that the real benefit of remembering the Lord was not relief from physical pain but liberation from a materialistic mentality.
Lord Nityananda blessed the thief and promised to nullify all his sins if he agreed to renounce all sinful activities from then onward. The Lord commanded the thief to preach among the criminals, showing them the path of Krishna consciousness. Then the Lord gave His own flower garland to the thief and placed His lotus feet on the thief’s head. The thief was purified of all sinful reactions and empowered to influence other criminals to take up Krishna consciousness. Ultimately, by Lord Nityananda’s mercy, the thief and all of his followers became intoxicated with pure love of God.
The Original Spiritual Master
Lord Nityananda’s mercy defies description. He delivered the notorious sinners Jagai and Madhai, who were so degraded and offensive that even Lord Chaitanya—the most charitable form of the Lord—refused to save them after Madhai injured Nityananda’s forehead. When Lord Nityananda pleaded on their behalf, however, Lord Chaitanya saved both brothers and awarded them pure love of God; therefore, Nityananda is the protector of the devotees and their intercessor. He is the original spiritual master, and through His mercy one can get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and achieve the ultimate goal of life: pure love of God.
Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, the author of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, praises Lord Nityananda’s great compassion toward the fallen:
Who in this world but Nityananda could show His mercy to such an abominable person as me? Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad. He delivers all those who fall down before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a sinful and fallen person as me. (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi 5.207–209)

A Greedy Gang of Thieves

Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura has narrated this astonishing pastime in Chaitanya-bhagavata (Antya-khanda 5.527–706). The leader of the gang, who had been born in a brahmana family, had rejected religious principles to associate with wicked, materialistic people and lead a sinful life of cheating, stealing, and even murder. Fortunately for him, he dwelled in the holy land of Navadvipa when Lord Nityananda was performing His pastimes there.

Lord Nityananda was residing with a devotee named Hiranya Pandita. Although Hiranya Pandita was poor, his heart was rich with pure love of God, and Lord Nityananda appreciated his company so much that He left His other associates to stay in Hiranya Pandita's home. Unlike Hiranya Pandita, the thief lacked such appreciation for the spiritual wealth of Lord Nityananda's company. He simply coveted others' material assets under the illusion that these would somehow make him happy.

One day, the thief spied Nityananda Prabhu near Hiranya Pandita’s house. He saw that the Lord wore golden bracelets, armlets, and earrings set with pearls. Necklaces made of gold, coral, jewels, and pearls adorned His beautiful body. Enchanted by such dazzling splendor, the thief craved the Lord’s wealth. He stealthily followed the Lord to ascertain His residence, and informed his companions of his great discovery.

“My dear brothers,” the thief announced. “Our days of suffering are about to end. I have seen the most valuable jewels all together in one place, on the body of Nityananda. He is staying alone in the house of Hiranya Pandita, so tonight let us go there and rob everything.”

Equipped with daggers, swords, and tridents, the thieves gathered near Hiranya Pandita’s house that evening. They were blinded by boundless materialistic ambition, and their minds were overpowered by an insatiable greed. Because of their demoniac mentality, they did not consider Nityananda Prabhu’s true identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His jewelry as an expansion of His spiritual energy. Instead, they considered Him an ordinary man and His ornaments merely matter to be conquered.

The thieves camped near Hiranya Pandita’s house and sent a spy to investigate the feasibility of their plan. The scout returned and informed the others that Nityananda was eating and His associates were awake. He could no comprehend the activities of the Lord’s associates, who were intensely engaged in sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. They exhibited symptoms of deep spiritual ecstasy, such as shivering, crying, rolling on the ground, and standing up of the bodily hairs. The spy could see these activities only as a momentary impediment to his sense gratification.

The thieves decided to wait a few hours and approach the house later, when they presumed the Lord would be asleep. In the meantime, they dreamed of the wealth they expected to attain, each claiming a different ornament as his own.

The Thieves Fall Asleep

Lord Nityananda, being the Supreme Personality of Godhead Balarama, is fully endowed with spiritual strength (bala). As the first expansion of Krishna’s spiritual energy, Nityananda has all of Krishna’s potencies, and so He perfectly understood the thieves’ sinful intentions. Through His mystic power, He caused them to fall asleep, and they slept deeply through the night. When they awakened suddenly to the squawking of crows, the sun was already high in the sky.

The thieves furtively returned to their homes and then quarreled, each accusing the other of falling asleep and ruining their plan. Then their leader pacified them, attributing everything to the will of Goddess Durga, the demigoddess in control of the material nature. He conjectured that Durga had bewildered them because they neglected to worship her. Thus, the thieves offered meat and wine to Durga and then again set out to rob Lord Nityananda, unaware that Mother Durga is merely an agent of the Supreme Lord.

When the thieves approached Hiranya Pandita’s house, they saw fierce giant soldiers guarding the four directions and loudly chanting the holy names of the Lord: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The thieves observed that each soldier wielded many weapons and was powerful enough to kill a hundred people in an instant. Utterly mystified, they quickly left the vicinity and sat down together to discuss this strange sight.

“Where have these giant soldiers come from?” the thieves wondered. Someone suggested that Nityananda might have arranged for His own protection, since many people said that He was very wise. Their leader scoffed at the idea and determined that the guards must be the entourage of an influential government official, and he decided to wait a few days before making another attempt.

After ten days, the thieves gathered together for a third time, each carrying five or ten weapons. As soon as they approached Hiranya Pandita’s house, they went blind—which seems appropriate when one considers that they were already spiritually blind. Then they fell into various situations that made them cry out of agony and fear. Some of the thieves fell into a ditch and were bitten by leeches, mosquitoes, and bees. Others fell into a heap of garbage and were stung by swarms of scorpions. Others fell on thorns, which pierced their bodies so that they couldn't move, while others fell into a hole and broke their limbs.

Then Indra, the king of the demigods, sent a fierce storm with heavy rains, lightning, and sharp hailstones, and the thieves shivered with extreme cold. Although Indra holds a high post as a universal administrator, he is but a servant of the Supreme Lord. He realized that the thieves had come to rob Nityananda, and punished them out of anger.

A Change of Heart

Suddenly, in the midst of this terrifying storm, the leader of the thieves experienced a change of heart. He understood that Nityananda Prabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and regretted his plans to harm Him. He prayed for forgiveness and took complete shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet.

“Who can protect me from this great danger?” the thief prayed. “I have no shelter other than Nityananda.”

He declared that his only desire was to become the servant of the Lord, whether he lived or died. Upon seeing the thief’s sincerity, Lord Nityananda relieved the gang from their suffering and restored their eyesight.

The head thief returned to Hiranya Pandita’s house. When he saw the glorious form of Nityananda Prabhu, he cried out to the Lord for protection and fell at His feet. Because Lord Nityananda had blessed him with ecstatic love of God, the hairs of his body stood on end, and he laughed, cried, and rolled on the ground, unable to speak. Eventually, he came to external consciousness and confessed everything to Lord Nityananda. He marveled how the Lord had delivered all the thieves from their suffering, and then acknowledged that the real benefit of remembering the Lord was not relief from physical pain but liberation from a materialistic mentality.

Lord Nityananda blessed the thief and promised to nullify all his sins if he agreed to renounce all sinful activities from then onward. The Lord commanded the thief to preach among the criminals, showing them the path of Krishna consciousness. Then the Lord gave His own flower garland to the thief and placed His lotus feet on the thief’s head. The thief was purified of all sinful reactions and empowered to influence other criminals to take up Krishna consciousness. Ultimately, by Lord Nityananda’s mercy, the thief and all of his followers became intoxicated with pure love of God.

The Original Spiritual Master

Lord Nityananda’s mercy defies description. He delivered the notorious sinners Jagai and Madhai, who were so degraded and offensive that even Lord Chaitanya—the most charitable form of the Lord—refused to save them after Madhai injured Nityananda’s forehead. When Lord Nityananda pleaded on their behalf, however, Lord Chaitanya saved both brothers and awarded them pure love of God; therefore, Nityananda is the protector of the devotees and their intercessor. He is the original spiritual master, and through His mercy one can get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and achieve the ultimate goal of life: pure love of God.

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, the author of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, praises Lord Nityananda’s great compassion toward the fallen:

Who in this world but Nityananda could show His mercy to such an abominable person as me? Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad. He delivers all those who fall down before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a sinful and fallen person as me. (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi 5.207–209)