Tattva-viveka
Nitaisundara is over the hill!
Madan Gopal Das - January 13, 2009 5:22 pm
Happy day youngster. Doesn't it feel great to not be a wacky teenager anymore? You are destined to become wiser from here on out...
Syama Gopala Dasa - January 13, 2009 6:05 pm
Happy Birthday! Hope you're having a nice birthday cake!!
Bhrigu - January 13, 2009 6:36 pm
Best wishes, Nitai!
Babhru Das - January 13, 2009 10:52 pm
Happy birthday, Pops! It's clear to those who know you that you haven't been a teenager for some time (well, most of the time). Have an excellent day.
Prema-bhakti - January 13, 2009 10:58 pm
Happy B'day Mr. Nitai. No matter how old you get you'll always be our little god bro' :Big Grin:
Gaura-Vijaya Das - January 13, 2009 11:06 pm
Happy birthday bro!!!!
Prahlad Das - January 14, 2009 12:18 am
Happy Birthday Pops! :Big Grin:
Guru-nistha Das - January 14, 2009 2:51 am
Happy birthday, Pops! It's clear to those who know you that you haven't been a teenager for some time (well, most of the time). Have an excellent day.
judging by his 'stache growth, I'm not sure if I can second that... :Big Grin:
Happy birthday! I'd deserve a cake in my face for not making you one.
Nitaisundara Das - January 14, 2009 5:38 am
Thanks everyone,
......
.......
........(trying to come up with something humorous [and humble of course :Big Grin:] to say)
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.......
........
Failed
But thank you nonetheless, it's nice having a spiritual community of well-wishers, even if some are prone to mocking.
(hey maybe that was it^)
Caitanya-daya Dd - January 14, 2009 8:15 am
happy birthday nitai-sundara :-)
Syama Gopala Dasa - January 14, 2009 6:01 pm
judging by his 'stache growth, I'm not sure if I can second that...Happy birthday! I'd deserve a cake in my face for not making you one.
It's pretty hard making a good cake for him anyway since he's a topnotch cakebaker himself. 
Babhru Das - January 15, 2009 1:11 am
judging by his 'stache growth, I'm not sure if I can second that...
Yeah--well, that's not a reliable measure. After all, I'm 61 and have the facial hair of a 16 year old (except that half of what little is there is white 
) .
Atmananda Dasa - January 15, 2009 6:46 pm
Yes, Happy Birthday to you Nitai Sundar.
Here is something you wrote in the classroom section in the Siksastakam a while ago that I thought was really nice. It appears that you are getting a lot from Swami's sanga. What you wrote hear really displays a mature understanding of Krishna Consciousness that I haven't heard from many devotees who are much older (in years) than yourself. To be quite honest, your good fortune is inestimable from my perspective. To have the sanga that you have, just at the age when your whole life is taking shape, it's amazing! I sometimes wish that I had run away from New Vrindavan to Audarya when I first read the words of Srila Sridhar Maharaja all those years.... Anyway you are a lucky man and offer my pranam to you. Happy Birthday!
"GM has explained that in the prakata lila there is more loving sentiment to be had. Examples: in the nitya lila Krsna is never born, thus Mother Yasoda does not get to experience Krsna until he is in his teens (?his teens right?). In the nitya lila there are no demons. There are rumors of demons and these scare the Vrajavasis, but they never find Krsna crawling on Putana. Similarly there are only rumors of Krsna going to Dwarka. Krsna, being the taster of love, likes to taste these sentiments as well.
The other day GM was explaining that in Gaura lila, Mahaprabhu's tasting of Radha-prema is more internal. Mahaprabhu tastes that Prema in Srivasa Angam but it does not come out like it does in the prakata lila.
GM often also says "there is nowhere to go". Like Syama said. It is not material world=maya=get the hell out / spiritual world=Krsna=go there now. Its "planets of Consciousness" as SSM said. Manifest and unmanifest lila are both...lila, that is, divine.
I think there are two ways of looking at earthly life being (or not being) worth living. Earthly existence, in terms of Consciousness, is not worth it. The only way to get away as "quick as possible" is to be serious in KC, which is done here, in the world. But even if we are to fully shift our Consciousness, we still have our prarabdha karma, and we should be thankful for that, otherwise those superlative devotees would go quicker. On the other side, what makes life on earth meaningful is seva, the same thing that makes life in the lila meaningful, only there everything is seva, thus everything is meaningful. The Guru is an extension of Gaura lila, as is his or her ashrama, and the whole thing is srsti lila. So we are in some sort of lila, only the degree of divinity depends on our sincerity.
So yes, we should want to get the hell out of here and cultivate serious conviction to do so, but not defined in those terms. We should want to serve, and when our eligibility reaches such a degree that our service necessitates getting out of here, we will be taken. Anartha nivritti comes via artha pravritti. getting rid of things in the context of getting real things. Jnanis want to get away and stop suffering, we want only Krsna and the devotee's happiness, if that means being on earth for preaching or what not, great! (of course I mean for the person who was hypothetically at such a state).
I think also I should mention that there is some place for being averse to the world and what not while we are practicing Vaidhi-bhakti. We need to quarantine ourselves with good sanga. We are also taught to avoid intimate exchange with worldly minded people, and this kind of discriminating sometimes goes against western sensibilities, but we must not pretend like a maha-bhagavata and see divinity everywhere. "
Tadiya Dasi - January 15, 2009 7:08 pm
It appears that you are getting a lot from Swami's sanga. What you wrote hear really displays a mature understanding of Krishna Consciousness that I haven't heard from many devotees who are much older (in years) than yourself. To be quite honest, your good fortune is inestimable from my perspective. To have the sanga that you have, just at the age when your whole life is taking shape, it's amazing!
I second that, Nitai. Your writing often blows me away...You have my pranams definetely, for what they are worth anyways 
Happy birthday! (I hope you had some cake! )
Gaurangi-priya Devi - January 18, 2009 2:36 am
I know I'm awfully late, but happy belated birthday! I hope you had a good day. As GM tells the story of Sridhara Maharaj talking to one devotee, "Our birthday is a happy time, for we can remember that in this life we had the opportunity to come in contact with a sad-guru and the process of bhakti-yoga."
Our fortune is immense. Thanks for taking that fortune and living the dedicated life that you are living. You make us all proud. Hope to see you soon again. Maybe this year when GM comes to NC????