Some Pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadev.

Pastime One
Lord Nrsimhadev's pujari had a very startling dream in which the director of the Temple called him and told him to bring some diesel oil, saying, "We are going to sacrifice Lord Nrsimhadev."You are going to what?!" exclaimed the pujari." "Yes we are going to sacrifice Lord Nrsimhadev."
"You can't do that, this is crazy."
"Just bring the diesel will you?"
“Ok, I will bring the oil but I don't want anything to do with this, it doesn't make any sense.”
After some time the pujari returned to the temple and was totally shocked to see that everything had been completely burned by a great fire and all that remained of the Deity was his feet and ankles. Early next morning he approached the chief pujari and asked if he could explain the meaning of this terrible nightmare. After thinking for awhile, he began to smile and said "Oh yes, you see yesterday was the start of jaladan (the festival of dripping water on salagram for one month), but we forgot to observe it, therefore Lord Nrsimhadev is letting you know that He is burning up and you should immediately begin the jaladan," which we did!
Pastime Two
Once, Lord Nrsimhadev's worship was going on as usual when the pujari noticed that one flower fell from Nrsimhadev's garland. The pujari asked the visitors if anyone was offering any special prayers to Lord Nrsimhadev. The visitors in front did not say anything, but from the back one lady came forward with tears in her eyes. She said, "My daughter got married about four or five years ago and she has no issue. The people in my son-in-law's house consider it inauspicious. So I was praying to Nrsimhadev that He might help her in her desperate situation." Then the pujari said, "Your prayer is granted, the symptom is that this flower fell from Nrsimhadev's garland. Please take this and keep it nicely. You can wash this flower and give the water to your daughter to drink." Then the lady left, and later the pujari forgot the incident.
After one year, the same devotee, along with her daughter, son-in-law and a newborn baby came smiling to Nrsimhadev. She reminded the pujari about the prayer she made one year back, as a result of which her daughter gave birth to a very nice baby boy, whom they named Prahlad. And once again they offered a very nice puja (offering) to Lord Nrsimhadev.
Pastime three
One of our Namahatta devotees, Kalyanit dasi, has two daughters, the elder one is Prathibha and the younger is Anubha. Both of them are married, and they have grown-up children. They both live in the same city, Berhampur. Once the husband of Prathibha fell extremely sick and was in a coma, near to death. Along with the other relatives the younger sister, Anubha, was also in great anxiety about her brother-in-law's situation. She went to the hospital, and as she was a devotee, she prayed to Lord Nrsimhadev (at ISKCON Mayapur) to help her brother-in-law. She came home and went to bed with a heavy heart. At the end of the night she had a dream in which Lord Nrsimhadev came near to her and told her, "Don't worry, your brother-in-law is ok." And then her dream broke. In the morning the news came from the hospital that the patient was doing well, his saline drip and oxygen had both been removed, and he was now able to talk.
Pastime four
There was a fight in a village, and in the course of the fight one person was attacked with acid as a result of which his whole face was burnt and terribly disfigured. The sight of one of the eyes was completely lost and the other eye had only about 10% vision. The doctors said that the remaining eye, through which he had 10% vision, would also go blind very soon. They suggested taking the patient to Vellore (South India) for further treatment, to see if they could do something about it. At that time a devotee who was there, suggested that they should pray to Lord Nrsimhadev for the recovery of his eyes. As a result they prayed to Lord Nrsimhadev (at ISKCON Mayapur). The next day, much to the doctor's surprise, it was found that the patient could see everything very nicely.
Pastime five
One Russian lady used to make tulasi garlands for Nrsimhadev every day. Being pleased with her, Nrsimhadev's pujari gave her one of Lord Nrsimhadev's false finger nails as prasad. She took it and kept it with her. That night she had a dream in wich she saw that Lord Nrsimhadev had come to her and was sitting one her bed. The Lord then put His fingers with His long nails inside her heart and pulled out something black and said "You see this? This is not love, it is lust. And there is still more here. What shall I do with it?" She could not reply, and her dream broke. The next day she went before Lord Nrsimhadev and asked Him to throw it far away.
Pastime Six
The father of one of the devotees of ISKCON your forum used to argue with him saying, "Why do we have to worship Nrsimhadev, when Radha Madhava are there?" The boy tried to make his father understand that Krishna and Nrsimhadev are non-different, but his father was not very convinced in this regard. During Nrsimha Caturdasi 2003, this boy, along with his father, came to the temple and was watching Lord Nrsimhadev's Abhisek ceremony. Suddenly the boy's father saw Madhava's face in place of Nrsimhadev's. He turned to Radha Madhava and again he looked back at Nrsimhadev and found Nrsimhadev's face as Madhava's still. This contineud for about 20 seconds. In this way he realized that there is no difference between Madhava and Nrsimhadev.
Pastime seven
During 2004 Kavipriya devi dasi of South Kolkata, a disciple of His Holiness Jayapataka Swami, made some bracelets for Lord Nrsimhadev. Somehow or other she could not come to Mayapur and offer them to the Lord. In the meantime she started becoming sick in different ways. She went to the doctors and tried various treatments, but there was no cure. Lastly the doctors said that her problem was thyroid. As a result, she would eventually be unable to move.
As she was in great anxiety, thinking what to do, all of a sudden she remembered about Lord Nrsimhadev and the bracelets which she was supposed to offer to Him. Even though she was ill, she made the endeavor to come to Mayapur to give Him the bracelets. After offering them to Lord Nrsimhadev, all the symptoms of illness were totally removed within three days.
All glories to Lord Nrsimhadev!
Pastime Eight
“Thank You, Lord Nrsimhadev.”
On april 22, 2005, Revati Sundari devi dasi, age 8, was climbing on the roof of the bamboo playhouse in the Grhastha park in Sri Mayapur dham. To her great surprise she fell through the roof, landing on her head, and the roof caved in on top of her. She was in shock for an hour, shaking and crying and incoherent. She also had concussion. Gaura Baba, our wonderful homeopathic vaishnava doctor, treated her for concussion and shock and suggested a scan.
After three days, Revati woke up in the night vomiting black blood. We rushed her off to Kolkata. On the way, clear fluid was leaking from her nose, then violent nosebleeds started.
We took her straight to a good pediatrician, who immediately called in the top neurologist in the city. He ordered a CT scan and then, seeing the results, he sent us to a very good neurosurgeon, who has his own private hospital. Revati was admitted straight away.
The symptoms continued through the night, and we found out that the clear fluid from her nose was the brain fluid (CFS)leaking out. The scan clearly showed a fracture in the floor of her brain, from which the brain fluid was escaping. Also her brain was swollen and blood was pooling there, causing pressure. She had extreme pain in her head which was unabated since the accident. The doctors worked on her for a couple of days, giving her medicine intravenously. The whites of her eyes became totally red. She was like a limp rag with little interest in anything.
Finally the doctors said that the next morning, early, they would do a special scan showing all the sections of her brain to determine the exact extent of the injuries and then would probably decide to operate to repair the damage. They would tell us their decision by 9 am.
I phoned Pankajanghri Prabhu, explaining the situation and asking him to please pray to Lord Nrsimhadev. He immediately said he would do a full puja (offering) between 5 and 7 am, complete with abhisekha and everything else. This was the time of the special scan.
The next morning when I met the doctors, they were looking amazed and said that the new scan showed that the injuries were miraculously almost healed. All the symptoms such as pain, violent nosebleeds, brain fluid leakage, vomiting, etc. had abruptly stopped.
When I went in to see Revati, she was sitting up in bed looking bright-eyed and fresh, and her eyes were fully white again. Thank you, Lord Nrsimhadev!
In gratitude and love, your servant Racitambara dasi
Pastime Nine
Lord Nrsimhadev shows His mercy even to a non-devotee.
Yasoda Mata's 85 year old foster father passed away two months ago.
During his stay in the hospital, Yasoda Mata prepared a tape recorder and played the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra all day long in his ward. Her foster father was actually in semi-coma, but miraculously when he heard the maha-mantra, gradually he awoke and with closed eyes he appeared to be enjoying the music and the sound vibration.
He started to follow the tempo by tapping his hand on the edge of his bed. His finger ring made the sound like "don, don, don" "don don don"..." He looked like he was totally meditating on the Maha mantra. Suddenly he spoke, "Look! There is a huge five-clawed man, and his head looks just like a lion's. He is coming into my ward. Don't you see him? He is coming." The foster father still with eyes closed said. "Oh, yes, I forgot you all cannot see him, but he is really here. I do not know who he is."
At that moment Yasoda Mata and her daughters looked at each other in great surprise and answered, " Father, He is Lord Nrsimhadev," "What dev???” he asked. “I don't know Him. But He is nodding His head to tell me that He is."
Yasoda Mata felt great ecstasy in hearing this, for in her house she keeps a model of the Nrsimha Deity from Mayapur and had been offering heartfelt prayers to Him so that her father could leave the body without any attachment and that his soul can become Krishna's devotee in his next birth.
Continuously her father said, "Look, He is smiling to me and starting to speak again. Oh, He is telling me that I have to learn to chant what you are chanting now. What exactly are you chanting?" He said.
"It is a mantra to call the holy name of Lord," Yasoda Mata replied.
"I don't know what mantra, but please teach me," he said.
"All right father, please repeat after me and listen carefully--Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." Yasoda Mata taught her foster father word by word patiently. Without taking a long time, he learned and tried to chant, and chanted so nicely.
The next day he passed away with tranquility.
During that weekend we devotees here congregated together to do the kirtan(chanting) for Yasoda Mata's father at the funeral service. Yasoda Mata prepared the prasadam garland, Ganga water, tulasi and put tilak on her father, which have all been done nicely and properly according to her guru maharaj His Holiness Giridhari Swami's telephone instruction. Her foster father's face looked so peaceful. His cheeks were a little pink and his body was soft. After some customary ceremonies, the body was sent to the incinerator. A few hours later the people who work in the memorial service came to us and and exclaimed to us in amazement, "We have never seen anyone's ashes look so white and beautiful like jade as your father's! What happened to him? What were you chanting for him? Could you write it down for us? We want to learn and we think we can also chant while doing our service here."
Why the Lord personally appeared before someone who we consider is not a devotee proves the scriptural statement that if one is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, all their family members will be benefited as well. From Lin Tulip, Taiwan, 20th March 2006.

Sri Nrsimhadev: The Lord in His Most Terrific Form.

Om namo bhagavate sri maha-Nrsimhaya/ damstra-karala-vadanaya/ ghora-rupaya vajra-nakhaya/ jvala-maline mama vighnan paca paca/ mama bhayan bhindi bhindi/ mama satrun vidravaya vidravaya mama/ sarva ristan prabhanjaya prabhanjaya/ chata chata, hana hana, chindi chindi/ mama sarvabhistan puraya puraya mam/ raksa raksa hum phat svaha
"O Nrsimhadeva, whose form is terrible by sharp and long teeth: who is very fearful to see with strong, large nails, and who is garlanded by flames--destroy, destroy my obstacles and kick out, kick out my fear. Scatter, scatter my enemies, destroy, destroy my karma. Flash, flash! Kill, kill! Cut, cut! Ever fulfill, fulfill my desire to serve You and protect, protect me and all around me."
Startling, isn't it--this maha-mantra of Lord Nrsimhadeva? For those who have had darsana of this Deity form here in Mayapur--especially at mangala-arati, when in the darkness of pre-dawn, His doors open to reveal His awesome form, illuminated by 200 oil lamps, that make His eyes and teeth glint in His lion-like face with a gaping mouth--they know that this description is no exaggeration. While inside the altar area, the pujari circles large lamps of bright flaming camphor and ghee. Outside, many devotees throng for a glimpse of their Lord, for they know that this auspicious arati will be over in just three or four minutes.
It is just before 5:00 a.m. The arati is over and the heavy wooden doors to Lord Nrsimhadeva's altar are closed.
I enter the Deity room, after offering prostrated obeisances and praying for the blessings of Srila Prabhupada and the assembled devotees. While standing before the Lord with folded hands, I recited the following prayer: "O Kesava, O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who has assumed the form of half-man, half-lion. All glories to you! Just as one can easily crush a wasp between one's fingernails, so in the same way the body of the wasp-like demon Hiranyakasipu has been ripped apart by the wonderful painted nails on Your beautiful lotus hands."

After cleaning the floor and sitting on a kusa-grass mat, the puja begins... The first thing I do is to purify the articles to be used, as well as the body and the mind. Then I meditate on my spiritual identity as different from the body, understanding myself to be the eternal servant of the servant of the Lord. Next comes my worship for my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, with sandalwood paste, flowers, incense, a ghee lamps, and some food. I then ask for his permission to assist in the worship of Lord Nrsimhadeva. Repeating the same procedure for Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Prahlada Maharaja, I begin to offer 16 items of worship through mantras--through the medium of water--to Lord Nrsimhadeva.
I touch my head to the lotus feet of the deity of Sri Prahlada Maharaja, praying for his blessings. "It was only to relieve the distress brought to you by your demoniac father Hiranyakasipu, that the Supreme Lord appeared in His wonderful form of Lord Nrsimhadeva. O Sri Prahlada Maharaja, you are one of the twelve mahajanas, or great authorities of devotional service. Kindly bless me with the understanding of spiritual truths."
On the altar of Lord Nrsimhadeva are 60 salagrama-silas. I remove Them to offer abhiseka. The big sila in the center who wears a crown is a Nrsimha saligram.

Although it is a scriptural injunction that one should touch one's head to the feet of the Deity, it's not always possible or practical. Therefore, we bring out the satari, the Deity's shoes, mounted on what looks like a helmet, and place it over the heads of the devotees. One of the benedictions of being a pujari is that he can place his head directly on the Lord's lotus feet. Receiving this benediction and begging forgiveness for any inconvenience I may cause Him, I undress the Lord and wipe His body with a soft, damp towel. His body begins to shine when I massage it with cooling oils like sandalwood or khus. His form is exquisite, slender and perfectly formed. He looks powerful but also graceful. The Lord's knees are bent, ready to spring, and around His hips is an engraved girdle, bearing a face with large cheeks, open mouth and a protruding tongue. His navel is deep and his chest is broad. Lord Nrsimhadeva's transcendental body is smooth, soft to the touch, and very much appealing to the eye. He is bedecked with bracelets and other ornaments. The Lord has eight arms. In six hands He holds a sword, lotus flower, disc, conch, club and shield, and to keep the promise of Brahma, His two front hands yield no weapons.

The Lord cannot bear any intolerance against His devotees. It is said that the face is the index of the mind. If this proves to be true, then we can see how furious Lord Nrsimhadeva must have been when He burst out from the pillar to attack the greatest of all demons, Hiranyakasipu, who tried to kill the Lord's pure devotee, Prahlada. "His angry eyes resembled molten gold, and His shining mane expanded the dimensions of His fearful face. His deadly teeth and His razor sharp tongue moved about like a dueling sword. His ears were erect and motionless, and His nostrils and gaping mouth appeared like caves of a mountain. His jaws parted fearfully and His entire body touched the sky." When it was decided to bring a Deity of Lord Nrsimhadeva to Mayapur for the protection of the devotees and the temple, three of the main pujaris were called by the managers to discuss the importance of establishing this Deity. However, when it came to the point of who would peform daily puja, no one was willing to step forward. "After such a long waiting period, the Deity is finally ready, and now nobody wants to worship Him!" Their concern was obvious. And then I was singled out...."Why don't you want to worship Him?" I was asked. "I'm too scared," I replied. They intimated me: "Oh, you probably don't follow the four regulative principles...." "Of course, but..."
Fortunately, our fears were allayed by Atma-tattva Prabhu, who had procured the Deity in South India. He told us that first, even the sthapati refused to make such a Deity, saying that nobody worships this sthanu form of Nrsimhadeva [the ferocious form of the Lord when He stepped out fo the pillar to Kill Hiranyakasipu]. Generally one goes before the Deity of the Lord to ask for some benediction, but to ask for something when He is shaking with fury--just wouldn't be a smart thing to do. It is certainly better to go for a more pacified form, e.g. after He has killed Hiranyakasipu. But later, when the stapati found out that it was for Mayapur Dhama, he agreed, because any deity brought to the dhama takes on the mood of the presiding deity of the dhama. In this case it is audarya, "benevolence," the mood of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Gaura-Hari!
"Although very ferocious, the lioness is very kind to her cubs. Similarly, although very ferocious to non-devotees like Hiranyakasipu, Lord Nrsimhadeva is very, very gentle and kind to His devotees like Prahlada Maharaja."
While dressing the Lord and remembering His mercy, I am thinking how some people misunderstand our purpose of worshiping Lord Nrsimha. Sometimes devotees say that worship of Nrsimhadeva is Vaikuntha-bhava, and it cannot take one to Goloka Vrindavana, the Lord's supreme and most intimate abode. But Lord Nrsimhadeva is partucularly inclined towards the devotees of Radha and Krishna. He is Krishna Himself, appearing especially in this form to reciprocate with our desire to remove all the obstacles in our devotional service. If one can always raise his hands and call out with great love the names of Nitai-Gaura and Radha-Madhava, that is wonderful. But if there is something in your heart that is stopping you from that spontaneous call, why not go in all humility before Lord Nrsimhadeva and pray that with His sharp nails, He may pierce those crooked desires in your heart and throw them far away... This is His main function. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura writes: "Therefore, I will pray at the feet of Lord Nrsimhadeva to purify my heart and give me the desire to serve Krishna. Weeping, I will beg at the lotus feet of Nrsimha that I may worship Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in Navadvip Dhama, free from all obstacles." His prayers continue: "At that moment, by Lord Nrsimhadeva's mercy, I will exhibit symptoms of ecstatic love for Radha and Krishna, and I will roll on the ground by the door of Lord Nrsimhadeva's temple."
Didn't Lord Caitanya reveal His divinity to Srivasa Thakura while Srivasa was worshipping his Nrsimha Deity, by saying: "Srivasa, don't you know that I am the same person whom you are worshipping behind those closed doors?" And what about Advaita Acarya, whose offerings of tulasi buds and Ganga water, along with His loud calling, caused the Lord to descend, it is said that He worshipped a Nrsimha Salagram!

I now begin putting ornaments on the Lord's body. I adjust Sri Nrsimhadeva's necklaces, so they hang symmetrically; tie shining bracelets on His wrist, and fix beautiful rings on His lotus fingers. "I am so close to you, oh Lord, and yet so far away. When will I become a devotee?" Prahlada, your foremost bhakta, is indicating that he is not afraid of Your ferocious mouth and tongue; Your eyes as bright as the sun, and Your frowning eyebrows. He fears not Your sharp, pinching teeth, your garland of intestines, and Your mane soaked with blood, nor Your tumultuous roaring, which makes elephants flee; nor Your nails meant for killing your enemies. However, he says, "I'm very much afraid of my condition of life within this material world. When will that moment come when You will call me to the shelter of Your lotus feet?" I know Sri Prahlada was saying that last point only for our benefit, for he was always completely surrendered unto You.
One time, I also felt surrendered unto You--at least for a few minutes. That was during the big flood in 1987. While offering You puja, standing waist deep in water, a big, frightening snake swam in the temple, passing behind You. It stopped about five feet in front of me, finding its exit blocked. After examining me for some long moments, it dipped down, out of sight, in the muddy Ganga water. Feeling myself in imminent danger, I noticed the hair on my arms standing on end, with no weapon to defend myself, nor the ability to run away, I felt very insecure. In such a helpless condition, I turned to You, oh Lord, and I knew that my fate was completely in Your hands. "You are the Supersoul in everyone's heart. If You want that snake to bite me, it will bite--if You don't, it won't. Let me continue my service; the result is dependent on You." Then, I became peaceful again, feeling the safety of Your shelter.
I finished the morning puja, but I couldn't stop thinking about the incident. It reminded me of the description by Lord Kapila of the babies in the womb. In their helpless and painful condition, they get the darshan of Paramatma, the Lord in the heart. If they are pious, they pray that if He relieves them from their suffering condition, they would--after being relieved from the womb--exclusively worship Him. But as soon as they're out and in good shape, they forget everything. Still, I have great hope that one day I'll be able to serve You nicely for Your pleasure. By the way, as long as the temple room was filled with water from the flood, the snake would come every day, circumambulate the Deity once, and then go out. Who knows who that snake actually was?
Covering His body with fresh garlands of flowers and tulasi, offering sandalwood paste, mixed with fragrant flowers and tulsi leaves to His lotus feet (which symbolizes sacrificing everything to the Lord), the morning puja is now complete. Hearing the devotees gathering outside makes me hurry--it's time for darshan. I blow the conch three times and open the doors to reveal the resplendent Lord. Jaya Sri Prahlada Nrsimhadeva! The devotees bow down, happy to see their Ugra Nrsimha again. In their hearts they know that He is not really as ugra as He looks.
--from an article published in Mayapur Journal, Summer 1994.

Lord Nrsimhadev's Appearance at ISKCON Mayapur

Based on a talk with H.G. Atmatattva das
On the 24th of March, 1984, at 12:20 am, thirty five dacoits (thieves) armed with weapons and bombs attacked Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple. They harassed the devotees and treated them with derision. But the greatest shock came when the dacoits decided to steal the Deities of Srila Prabhupada and Srimati Radharani. Fearlessly the devotees challenged the attackers. How could they see Srila Prabhupada and Srimati Radharani carried away? Shots were fired, a few dacoits fell, and their plans were foiled. Srila Prabhupada was rescued, but that beautiful form of Srimati Radharani would no longer grace the main altar.
This incident really disturbed the minds of the devotees. Those involved in management were especially concerned to make some permanent solution. This was not the first time the devotees had faced violence and harassment in Mayapur. Bhavananda das, who was the co-director of ISKCON Mayapur, suggested that Lord Nrsimhadev be installed. When the dacoits had threatened devotees at the Yoga Pitha, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur and his son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, had promptly installed Sri Sri Laksmi Nrsimhadev. There had been no further disturbances. Other devotees in Mayapur were not so keen to follow so closely in these footsteps. The pujari must be a naisthika brahmacari (celibate from birth), and the worship of Lord Nrsimhadev must be must be very strict and regulated. Who would be prepared to worship Him?
Despite such hesitancy, Bhavananda das was enthusiastic to bring Lord Nrsimhadev to Mayapur. He asked Bhaktisiddhanta das and myself to draw some sketches. One day quite spontaneously he said that the Deity's legs should be bent, ready to jump, He should be looking around ferociously, His fingers should be curled, and flames should be coming from His head. I sketched a Deity in this mood.
The devotees liked in and Pankajanghri das agreed to worship Him. Radhpada Das, a wealthy devotee from Kolkata, offered to sponsor the sculpting and installing of the Deity. It seemed Lord Nrsimhadev's appearance in ISKCON Mayapur would be a simple, straight forward affair. Radhapada Das promptly gave Rs. 130,000, and it was accepted that the Deity would be ready for installation in three months.
I left for South India to get things organized. By Krishna's grace I soon found a very famous sthapati. A sthapati not only sculpts Deities; he also expert in temple architecture and engineering. The man was very obliging until I mentioned that the Deity we wanted carved was Ugra Nrsimhadev. He emphatically refused to make such a Deity. I approached man Deity sculptors, but the answer was always the same: No. I had made a number of trips between Mayapur and South India. Six months had passed, but Lord Nrsimhadev had not yet manifested in His Deity form.
Radhapad Das was very anxious to see Lord Nrsimhadev installed in Mayapur. He asked me to visit the original sthapati I had seen and once again plead our case. This time the sculptor was a little more congenial and offered to read me a chapter from the Silpa Sastra (A Vedic scripture on sculpture and temple architecture.) that deals with different forms of Deities. He read aloud some verses describing Lord Nrsimhadev. A series of verses described His flamelike mane, His searching glance, and His knees bent with one foot forward ready to jump from the pillar. When he read this I was amazed. This was exactly what we wanted. I showed him the sketch I had done.He was impressed and offered to draw an outline based on the scriptural description, which we could use as a guide for sculpting the Deity. He reminded me, though, that he would not carve the form himself. It took him a week to complete the sketch. It was very impressive. I returned to Mayapur and showed the sketch to the temple authorities. Everyone wanted the same sthapati to carve the Deity. Once again I was sent back to South India to try to convince him.
I went straight to the house of the sthapati. I was feeling very anxious. What could I do but pray to Lord Nrsimhadev to be merciful and agree to manifest Himself in our temple in Sri Mayapur Dham? I had hardly said two sentences when the man matter-of-factly said he would carve the Deity. The story of how he came to this decision is interesting.
The sthapati had approached his guru, the Sankaracharya of Kanchi Puram, about our request. His guru's immediate reply was "Don't do it." When he heard that it was Hare Krsihna people from Navadvip, he became very concerned. "They want Ugra Nrsimha? Are they aware of the implicatins of sculpting and installing Ugra Nrsimha? Such Deities were carved over three thousand years ago by very elevated sthapatis. There is a place on the way to Mysore there is a place where a very ferocious Ugra Nrsimha. The demon Hiranyakasipu is torn open on His lap and his intestines are spilling out all over the altar. Once the standard of worship there was very high. There was an elephant procession and a festival every day, but gradually the worship declined. Today that place is like a ghost town. The whole village is deserted. No one can live there peacefully. Is that what they want for their project?"
The sthapati replied, "They are very insistent. They are constantly coming to talk to me about the Deity. Apparently they have some problem with dacoits." Handing his guru a sketch of the Deity, he said "This is the Deity they want." His guru took the sketch and looked at it knowlingly.
"Ah,this is Ugra category," he said, "but a Deity in this particular mood is called Sthanu Nrsimha. He doesn't exist on this planet. Even the demigods in the heavenly planets don't worship a form like this. Yes, this Deity belongs to the Ugra category. Ugra means ferocious, very angry. There are nine forms within this category. They are all very fierce. The one they want is Stanu Nrsimha: stepping out of the pillar. No. Don't carve this Deity. It will not be auspicious for you. I will talk with you about this later."
A few nights later the sthapati had a dream. In the dream his guru came to him and said, "For them you can carve Sthanu Nrsimha." The next morning he received a hand-delivered letter from Kanchipuram. The letter was from the Sankaracharya and gave some instructions regarding temple rennovations. There was a footnote at the bottom. It read, "For ISKCON you can carve Sthanu Nrsimha."
The sthapati showed me the letter and said, "I have my guru's blessings. I will carve your Deity." I was overwhelmed with joy. I gave him an advance payment and asked him how much time it would take to carve the Deity. He said the Deity would be ready for installation within six months. I returned to Mayapur.
After four peaceful months in the Holy Dham, I decided to go to South India and purchase the heavy brass paraphernelia required for Nrsimha worship and then collect the Deity. The trip was well-organized and trouble-free until I visited the sthapati. I explained to him that all the paraphernelia required for the worship had been purchased and that I had come to collect the Deity. He looked at me as though I had lost me senses and exclaimed, "What Deity? I haven't even found a suitable stone!" I couldn't believe my ears.
"But you told me He would be ready in six months," I exclaimed.
"I will keep my promise." he said. "Six months after I have found the stone the Deity will be ready for installation." His reply was emphatic, but I just couldn't understand or accept the delay. In frustration I challenged him, "There's big slabs of stone all over South India. What's the problem.?" He looked at me the way a teacher would view a slow student and said very deliberately, "I am not making a grinding mortar. I am making a Deity. The scriptures tell us that only a stone that has life can be used to make a Vishnu Deity. When you hit seven points of the stone slab, and each makes the sound mentioned in the scriptures, then that stone may be suitable. But there is a second test to indicate whether the stone is living stone. There is a bug that eats granite. If it eats from one side of the stone to the other, and leaves a complete trail behind it, then the second test of living stone has been passed. That stone is living stone, and expression can manifest from it. Only from such a stone can I carve your Nrsimhadev. Such stone speaks poetry. All features a Deity sculpted from such a stone will be fully expressive and beautifu. Please be patient. I've been searching sincerely for your six-foot slab."
I was amazed and a little anxious. The devotees in Mayapur were expecting the arrival of the Deity soon. How was I going to explain the "living stone" search to them? Maybe they would decide to make Nrsimhadev from marble I decided to try to lighten the subject by discussing the Prahlad Maharaj murti with the sthapati. "Please forgive me but I forgot to tell you last time I came that we also want a Prahlada Murti. We want to worship Prahlada Nrsimhadev. What do you think?
"I don't think that will be possible," the sthapati replied matter-of-factly. I looked at him incredulously, not sure what to say. He smiled and continued. "You want everything done exactly according to the scriptures. Your Nrsimhadev will be four feet high. Comparatively speaking, that will make Prahlada Maharaja the size of an amoeba."
"But we want Prahlada Maharaja one foot high," I interrupted.
"Fine," the sthapati replied, "but that means your Nrsimhadev will have to be about 120 feet high." We began to argu back and forth about Prahlada Maharaja's form. Finally the sthapati sighed in resignation and agreed to make Prahlada Maharaja one foot tall. At least now I had something positive to report when I returned to Mayapur.
After two months I returned to South India. There had been no developments. I shuttled back and forth from Mayapur to South India every thirty or forty days. Finally our stone was found, and the sthapati became a transformed man. For over a week he hardly spent any time at home. Hour after hour, day after day, he just sat staring at the slab. He had chalk in hand but didn't draw anything. He refused to allow his laborers to do anything besides remove the excess stone to make the slab rectangular. The next time I visited him, he had made a sketch on the stone. Thatwas all. I was worried. The Mayapur managers were becoming impatient.
"Are you sure the Deity will be finished in six months?" I asked in desperation.
"Don't worry. The work will be done," he replied.
I returned to Mayapur, only to be sent back to South India to check on some details of the Deity. I found the sthapati carving the form himself with intense care and dedication. At that stage the stone had gone and the shape had come. The sthapati had just started on the armlets. He took two weeks to carve them. All the features were so refined an delicate. I was impesssed and very happy.
It took the sthapati a little ove twelve months to finish the Deity. When he complete the work he didn't immediately inform me but decided to visit some friends for a few days. It was the monsoon season. There were few visitors, and he felt it safe to lock up Lord Nrsimhadev securely in his thatched shed. Two days later his neighbours ran to inform him that the thatched shed was on fire . There was ha\eavy rain and everything was wet, but the coconut tree roof had caught fire. He ran to the scene to find Nrsimhadev untouched but the shed burned to ashes. Immediately he phoned me, "Please come and take your Deity, He's burning everything. He's made it clear He wants to go NOW!"
Enthusiastically I traveled to South India, hired a truck, and half-filled it with sand. I arrived at the sthapati's studio thinking this final stage would be relatively simple. I had foolishly forgotten that Lord Nrsimhadev is a very heavy personality. He weighed one ton! Aftern two or three hours we managed to lift the Deity safely from the shed onto the truck. To ravel across the border safely, we also needed police permission, along with signed papers from the Central Sales Tax Department, the Archeological Director, and the Art Emporium Directorate in Tamil Nadu.
All the officers demanded to see the Deity before signing the necessary papers. Once they took darshan of Lord Nrsimhadev, they all became very obliging and efficient. We had all the necessary papers in hand within twenty-four hours--a miracle given the usual quagmire of bureaucracy found in government offices in India. The trip back to Mayapur was also amazingly troulbe-free and peaceful. Our protector was certainly present with us.
Usually the sthapati comes on the day fo the installation ceremony, goes into the Deity room, and carves the eyes of the Deity This is called netra-nimilanam (opening the eyes). It was an exceptional case that our Nrsimhadev's sthapati had already carved the eyes. He had not only carved the eyes; he had also done the prana-pratistha (installing the life force), a little puja and an arati. I am sure that is why all the papers were prepared so obligingly, and transporting the Supreme Lord was so easy. He was already present. And who would dare to say no to Lord Nrsimhadev?"
The installation of Lord Nrsimhadev was very simple and lasted three days: from the 28th to the 30th of July, 1986. I remember feeling apprehensive that perhaps the installation was so simple. The grave warnings of the Sankaracarya of Kanchipuram had deeply impressed me. But my mind was soon appeased by an awareness of loud, dynamic kirtana. Sankirtana-yajna, the only true opulence of Kali Yuga, was dominating the scene. I felt enlivened and satisfied. Lord Nrsimhadev, the protector of the sankirtana mission, had finally decided to manifest at Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir.