Three questions:
1. I believe I have heard that Balarama is never on the same altar as Radha Krsna because he never participates in their lila in Vrndavana. First, is this true? Second, if this is true, and Lord Caitanya is the embodiment of the ectastic love and loved of Radha and Krsna, and if Nityananda is Balarama, then is there a conflict here with the previous injunction? Please make any corrections necessary to the question. I know that Nityananda was a great proponent of Caitanya, I'm just confused about how the Balarama - Radha - Krsna thing works out.
2. This is a silly question of etiquette that I've been wishing I'd known for years. When you pay your obeisances to guru or the deity, is it proper to bow with the top of your head facing them or should one bow so that they see your side? If it is the side, does it matter if your left or right side is forward?
3. Is it appropriate to offer secular music for the enjoyment of the deities? My favorite piece of music is Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, CT. 47 Romance (Larghetto). For me, it tugs right on my soul strings and speaks of love and yearning, of the struggle and achievement of love. It reminds me of the dance of Radha and Krsna, so I would think they might like to listen to it. I'm not sure what is considered proper though.
Thank you!
This is how I can help before the Americans wake up (but don't get used to it, in one week I'll be in the same time zone!).
1. Yes, Krsna is not much of a playboy with his bigger brother around, it spoils the mood, would you do otherwise? Gauranga and Nityananda are in a preaching mood, when they deal with one another they are Krsna and Rama, but whenever Mahaprabhu showed the bhava of Radha, like during Ratha Yatra, or in general during the last years of his life on earth that mark his highest separation from Krsna, Nityananda was either looking from a distance or absent.
2. The deity worship book says one should bow down in front of the deities showing the left side. Go figure why.
3. Every sound in this world emanates from the original vibration OM, which is the sound manifestation of the embrace and the kissing between Radha and Krsna, and every sound is meant for the glorification and pleasure of God. However, at a sadhaka level it is much more beneficial and much more appreciated by the Lord, if we sing, chant, repeat his names. There is no sound dearer to him, and dear becomes the person who puts aside his or her personal taste to chant or play those names. If Chopin reminds you of the love dance of Radha and Krsna (on a good day), the holy names will make you part of it in due time.
Otherwise, at a very beginning and innocent stage it would be OK to put what we like in relation to Krsna.
So what happens Mahaprabhu shows the bhava of Radha when Nityananda is right next to him on the altar? How do we make allowances for that?
A-hem... here I am losing ground, and I hope someone else can help you.
By the way, Balarama does take part in Krsna's amorous affairs in his expansion as Ananga manjari.
Sri murti is in fact an expansion and an avatara of the Lord, but much depends on the purity and level of advancement of the worshiper.
In another thread somebody was quoting SP when he said that at first, even if we worship Radha-Krsna murti, we are actually approaching and addressing Laksmi-Narayana. So, at the level most of us are at, Nimai and Nitai are the givers of prema-dharma, patita-pavana Nitai Gauranga.
Mahaprabhu is of course always Mahaprabhu, but there is a difference in the mood between an altar of Gaura Nitai, the one established by SP in the West with a view to bless his preaching effort in such a Krsna-starved area of the world, and the altars of Gaura-Radha-Krsna preferred by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, representing the vision of Ramananda Raya and the most exoteric, high and slippery apex of our siddhanta.
So what happens Mahaprabhu shows the bhava of Radha when Nityananda is right next to him on the altar? How do we make allowances for that?
Nitai is there to catch Mahaprabhu when he falls. He is Ananta, who is also present in Radha Krsna lila in forms (Sri Krsna's shoes, bed, etc.) that do not interfere with the bhava like the form of Balarama as elder brother might in some instances. The point is also that Nitai worships Gaura.
Guru Maharaja,
Thank you for helping me to understand.
I have a related question - the deities at Caitanya Math in Navadwip are Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda. If my understanding is correct, 'Guru' refers to Nityananda and 'Gauranga' means the golden one and refers to Lord Caitanya. In a photograph I saw of the altar, there are only 3 deities - Caitanya, Govinda, and Gandharva. How does the naming of 4 personalities relate to the 3 deities seen?
Thank you.
Guru Maharaja,Thank you for helping me to understand.
I have a related question - the deities at Caitanya Math in Navadwip are Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda. If my understanding is correct, 'Guru' refers to Nityananda and 'Gauranga' means the golden one and refers to Lord Caitanya. In a photograph I saw of the altar, there are only 3 deities - Caitanya, Govinda, and Gandharva. How does the naming of 4 personalities relate to the 3 deities seen?
Thank you.
Guru here means guru-tattva and Pujyapada Sridhara Maharaja in particular, the founder of the Monastery.