Overcoming the Opposition

[Adi 17]

Nimai had induced people to chant throughout His life, but that now evolved into a wide-scale sankirtan movement.

Nimai’s mission was to inaugurate and establish the process of nama- sankirtan as the special dispensation for this age. While the private gatherings at Shrivas Thakur’s home were undoubtedly blissful, He couldn’t confine the ecstatic chanting to those four walls. He quickly took the sankirtan party onto the streets of Navadvip where thousands of people joyously chanted, surcharging the entire town with a unique devotional buzz. As the movement grew in strength, influence and prominence, however, there was growing opposition and dismay from various parties.

Jagai & Madhai – after receiving the mandate to share the holy name with everyone, Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur encountered Jagai and Madhai, the notorious brothers who had abandoned their cultured family background for a degraded materialistic lifestyle. When requested to chant the holy name, they angrily chased Nityananda and Haridas away. Undeterred, the preachers returned the following day, at which time Madhai struck Nityananda with a piece of earthen pot, causing blood to gush from His head. Upon hearing of the incident, Nimai angrily arrived at the scene, ready to kill the brothers for their grievous offence. On the plea of Nityananda, however, Nimai spared their lives. Shaken by their near-death experience, Jagai and Madhai repented their mistakes, became cleansed of all sinful habits, and received initiation into the chanting of Krishna’s names. It was an incredible transformation!

Gopal Chapala – Gopal Chapala was a local brahmana who disapproved of the kirtans at Shrivas Thakur’s house. In an attempted defamation, Gopal placed sacrificial items at the Thakur’s doorstep, intimating that Shrivas was actually a meat-eating drunkard. As the villagers learned of the news, Shrivas refrained from defending himself, and instead humbly announced to everyone how degraded he was. Everyone clearly understood, however, that this was the devious scheming of Gopal. As a result of his offensive behaviour, Gopal contracted leprosy, and was only relieved from his illness when he approached Shrivas for forgiveness.

Brahmana’s Curse – another local brahmana became agitated when he was refused entry into the all-night kirtans. In retaliation, he cursed Nimai to be bereft of all material happiness. Nimai was greatly pleased to receive this benediction-in-disguise and wholeheartedly thanked him!

Chand Kazi – complaints against the public sankirtan began to flood in from local Muslims, staunch atheists and even the rigid smarta-brahmana community. The strict Islamic magistrate (Kazi)responded by sending officers to break the drums at Shrivas Thakur’s house, after which they officially outlawed the public chanting that had become a resounding phenomenon throughout Navadvip. In response, Nimai gathered all the devotees and organised a non-violent demonstration to the Kazi’s residence. The sound was tumultuous, and when they arrived at his home, the Kazi was too scared to appear. Nimai eventually met him and they had a fruitful dialogue on the comparative religious principles of the Vedas and Koran. The Kazi was convinced of the Vedic version that Nimai presented, and related how Narasimhadeva (the half-man half-lion incarnation of Krishna) had appeared in his dream to warn him not to oppose the sankirtan movement. The Kazi finally declared, “To as many descendants as take birth in my dynasty in the future, I give this grave admonition: No one should check the sankirtan movement.”

We live in a world which is topsy-turvy. Krishna declares that religion is sometimes mistaken as irreligion, while irreligion regularly passes as religion! These instructive pastimes remind us that genuine devotees of God will undoubtedly face obstacles, opposition and criticism. When homeopathic treatment is applied, the initial sign of success is that the disease gets worse. That is, however, an indication that the treatment is actually working. Similarly, when a genuine spiritual movement takes root, some opposition is to be expected, but as time goes by the powerful message will be truly appreciated and valued. By remaining determined, tolerant and humble, eventual success is guaranteed.