THE DEITIES OF GAURI DAS PANDIT
(a play taken from lecture by Jayapataka Swami) adapted by
Madhuryalilananda devi dasi
(New Talavana Gurukula, U.S.A.)
Cast:
Narrator
Gauri das Pandit
Nimai
Nitai
Deities of Nimai and Nitai Hridayananda das
Devotee 1 Devotee 2 Devotee 3 Devotee 4 Kirtan Party
Props:
Alter with curtain
Burlap bags stuffed with paper and labeled rice and wheat Big jugs for milk
Baskets of vegetables and fruit
Boat or wagon with produce
Several trees that are wide enough to hide behind Some bushes
Arotik paraphernalia on a table
Offering tray with prasadam
Narrator: Gauri das Pandit was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya that lived near Navadwip in West Bengal. Lord Caitanya was very merciful to him by personally being present while Deities were being make for Gauri das Pandit to worship. These deities were very unusual and had many unique pastimes.
Nimai: Gauri das Pandit, it is time for us to leave. We have been here much to long.
Nitai:Yes, We really must leave now.
Gauri das: No you can't leave! Who will I talk to? Who will be my friend? If You leave than how will I be able to live? You have to stay here with me.
Nimai: How can I stay? I have so many other devotees that I have to see. We can't stay here all the time.
Gauri das: Well then, if You can't stay here, then I will have Deities made of You and Nitai so that I can worship Them while You are gone. That will give me some happiness while You are away.
Nimai: I can't Have Deities made in My presence! This is not my pastime.
Gauri das: No! No! I don't care. Either You give me a set of Deities of You and Nitai, or You both stay here with me. I won't let You go. So You decide.
Nimai: All right. How can I say no to My devotee.
Narrator: So special Deities were carved for Gauri das right in the presence of Lord Caitanya. When they were done Nimai approached Gauri das for his permission to leave.
(Actors for the Deities are standing on the alter when they open the curtain.)
Nimai: All right, Gauri das, the Deities are ready now. It is time for us to go.
Gauri das: No, I've changed my mind.
Nimai: (surprised) What do you mean,you've changed your mind?
Gauri das: I've changed my mind. You must stay. You say that the Deities are nondiferent from You, so let the Deities go and You and Nitai stay here with me. (Nimai and Nitai look at each other and smile.)
Nimai and Nitai: All right.
(Nimai and Nitai hold up their hands like the Deities and the Deities on the alter put their hands down and start walking away.)
Gauri das: No! No! You're tricking me. Stop! Come back!
Nimai and Nitai: All right. We'll stay.
(They hold up their hands and the Deities start walking off again)
Gauri das: (Running after the new Nimai and Nitai.) No! No! You must stay here. You're tricking me. Don't leave me.
Nimai and Nitai: All right. (They hold up their hands and Deities walk off)
Gauri das: No! Let them go. (Pointing to the deities.) You stay here with me.
Nimai and Nitai: All right.
Narrator: This happens so many times that after a while Gauri das forgot which set was originally Nimai and Nitai and which ones were the Deities. Finally, in frustration, Gauri das agrees to let them leave.
Narrator: For many years Gauri das Pandit very faithfully and devotedly worships his Gauri Nitai Deities. One year, around the time of Gaura Purnima, he had to leave for a while.
Gauri das: Hridayananda, come here.
(Hridayananda comes in and offers his obeisances)
Gauri das: Hridayananda, I must go away for a few days. I want you to take care of my Gauri Nitai Deities while I am gone.
Hridayananda: This is a great honor. Thank you very much. I will be very careful with Their worship. (Gauri das leaves)
Hridayananda: I must be very careful in worshiping my spiritual master Deities. Let me see, Lord Caitanya's birthday is very soon. We had better hold a huge festival for the pleasure of the Deities. (He thinks for a minute.) We will need lots of prasadam to distribute. We can invite all the devotees of Lord Caitanya from the neighboring villages. I better make a line of what we will need. (He walks off stage)
Narrator: Hridayananda organized a huge festival. He ordered all kinds of vegetables, fruits, grains, milk, yogurt, and ghee. Many devotees were invited from neighboring villages andf arrangements had to be made for them.
(Hridayananda is organizing the festival, people are walking back
and forth with bags of grain, and baskets of vegetables, and jugs of milk. Hridayananda is directing things as people ask him questions. Gauri das enters on the side and watches for a minute unssen by Hridayananda. In an angry mood he walks over to Hridayananda)
Gauri das: What is going on here? Hridayananda, what is all this?
Hridayananda: (Hridayananda offers his obeisances to his guru) We are getting ready for the Gaura Purnima festival.
Gauri das: You are having a festival and you didn't ask me? Without the permission of your guru, your spiritual master, you go ahead and have a festival? NO! You can't have this festival!
Hridayananda: (Very Humbly.) Yes Gurudeva.
Gauri das: (Still mad.) Forget about this festival. Go and chant your japa by the Ganges.
Hridayananda: Yes, Gurudeva. (He offers obeisances and goes to the side of the stage and sits and starts chanting)
(A boat of produce is brought on and the man goes to Hridayananda who directs him to Gauri das.)
Devotee 1: Where do these vegetables and grains go?
Gauri das: (Suprised) What? Vegetables and grains? Oh, I guess to the temple kitchen.
Devotee 2: Where does this milk go?
Gauri das: Milk? I don't know. Put it over there. (points to where the last devotee left.)
Devotee 3: (comes in with a big burlap sack.) Where does all this rice go. I have six more men with rice too.
Gauri das: That's quite alot of rice. Take it to the temple kitchen I guess. (devotee leaves.)
Devotee 4: There are fifty devotees from the next village to the north, seventy five devotees from the village to the south, and 150 devotees from the village across the Ganges that want to know where they will be staying during the festival.
Gauri das: Oh dear, Hridayananda, come here right now! (Hridayananda runs to his guru and offers obeisances.)
Gauri das: All right, have your festival. There is so much produce, we have to use it up, and we wouldn't want to disappoint all this devotees.
Hridayananda: Jai! Hari bol! Hridayananda starts directing everyone. Several more devotees have come in needing to know where to go.)
Hridayananda: Prabhu, put this in the festival kitchen. This goes to the temple, that goes to the asrama. Can you get a group and go roll puries? Please make sure that the offering is on time.
Devotee: The offering is ready for the Deities now. (Hridayananda goes over to Gauri das.)
Hridayananda: The offering is ready for your Gauri Nitai Deities
now.
Gauri das: Good, bring it over while I get ready. Go and start the kirtan. (Hridayananda brings the plate to Gauri and Gauri puts the offering plate on a table. He is standing so that he is not facing the Deities. He is doing achman and getting things ready. Hridayananda has gone to the other side of the stage and has started a kirtan with the devotees. While Gauri das has his back turned to the Deities, Caitanya and Nityanada look over to the kirtan and decide to join it. They sneek off the alter and join the kirtan, standing in the back. No one notices them. Gauri das turns around to put the plate on tha alter and sees that the Deities are gone.)
Gauri das: Yaaaaa!!!! Where are Nitai Gaura??! Where are Nitai Gaura. They were just here. The Deities are gone! (He runs to center stage) Where are Nitai Gaur? NO!NO!NO! They are cheating me again. They run off! (He runs around looking for them behind some of the props. Finally he sees them with the devotees in the kirtan, dancing.)
Gauri das: There they are, They are trying to cheat me again. (He picks up a stick and starts to chase them around the stage. Gauri Nitai look and start to run trying several times to hide.)
Gauri das: Get back in the temple right now. Nitai Gaura, You don't cheat me, You get back in the temple right now!! Don't You run off like this.
(Gaura and Nitai hide in Hridayananda's heart. To do this they hide behind some scenery. While Hridayananda has had his back turned in the kirtan he has taken out of shirt a big picture of Gaura Nitai on a red heart on a string around his neck.)
Gauri das: There They are! They are hiding in your heart Hridayananda!
Hridayananda: (Surprised) In my heart?! (He looks at his chest, so does everyone else.)
Gauri das: Nitai Gaura are hiding in your heart. (He walks over to Hridayananda shaking his stick.) Get out of his heart immediately. Get back in the temple where You are supposed to be.
(Nitai and Gaura leave their place and Hridayananda turns around so he can put the picture back in his shirt. Gauri das follows Gaur and Nitai to the altar.)
Gauri das: (yelling) You don't ever do that again! (a bit softer.) If you leave then I'll be friendless. I'll have no one to talk to, no one to offer prasadam to. You just can't go and run away like that. It is very disturbing! (Gaura Nitai stand back up on the altar like Deities. Gauri puts the offering in front of them.)
Gauri das: Now take your prasadam. It's getting cold! (He closes the curtains and leaves.)
Gauri das: Hridayananda, come here. (Hridayananda comes over, the other devotees follow.)
Gauri Das: From now on your name will be Hridayacaitanya because Lord Caitanya hid in your heart.
Devotees: Jay, Hari bol!
Gauri Das: And don't ever leave the Deities curtain open longer than a minute or two. I don't want Nitai Gaura getting attached
to any other devotees and running off again. Now start the kirtan again!