Page 20 - Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (English)

6 Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu

their jewelry. Spotting Nimäi, they grabbed Him
and ran off. Unable to find her beloved Nimäi,
distraught Çacédevé called her neighbors to look
for Him. Meanwhile, under the influence of the
Lord’s illusory potency, the befuddled crooks ran
full-circle back to the house of Jagannätha Miçra.
Seeing so many people looking for the child, they
quickly put Nimäi down and fled.

As Nimäi grew up He became exceedingly
mischievous, just as Kåñëa had been in His
childhood. One name of Kåñëa is Duñöa Mohana,
which means “naughty young boy.” He is duñöa
(naughty) yet His charming behavior enchants
the mind (mohana). Nimäi also had this quality.
His mother once found Him eating dirt. “Why
are You eating dirt?” she asked. “I just gave You
so many nice sweets.” Nimäi replied, “What’s
the difference? It’s all one. Sweets are produced
from earth, so whether I eat sweets or dirt, it is
the same.” Being the wife of a learned Vaiñëava
brähmaëa, Çacémätä could understand that Nimäi
was expounding Advaita-väda, the erroneous
philosophy of absolute monism. She gave the
example that although a clay pot is nothing but
a transformation of earth, a lump of clay cannot
be used as a pot; only when earth is transformed
into a pot can it hold water. Similarly, even though