As he grew older, he studied Sanskrit grammar, etc. His parents were overjoyed to see his talents and his religious proclivity. From childhood, a ray of devotion for Lord Sri Krishna was clearly visible in his heart.
From his very childhood, he was very vigilant to associate only with saintly people and avoid the wicked. Rupa Gosvami writes[1]:
“There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service:
(1) being enthusiastic,
(2) endeavoring with confidence,
(3) being patient,
(4) acting according to regulative principles such as sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam — hearing, chanting and remembering Krishna)[2],
(5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and
(6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas.
These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.”
Good association is therefore one of the most important items in spiritual life.
Due to Syamananda’s serene and gentle nature, modest behavior, simplicity, character and devotion, not only his parents loved him, but so did all the neighbors.
In due time his anna-prasana[3], chuda-karana[4] and other samskaras were performed with great celebrations.
Due to his wonderful intellect and extraordinary talent, he finished his study of grammar, etc. in a very short time before going on to study rhetoric, etc.
After having carefully listened to the glories of Gauranga and Nityananda from devotees, he was able to repeat them to others. When listening to the activities of Gaura Nitai or those of Radha and Krishna, tears would flow in waves from his eyes. He also devotedly served his parents.
One day Krishna Mandal said to his son:
“You shoud take initiation from a qualified Vaisnava. Only in this way you’ll be able to serve the Lord.”
Duhkhi agreed. He said:
“I heard the glories of Sri Hridaya Caitanya Prabhu. He is my Guru. He resides at Ambika Kalna[5]. His Guru is Sri Gauri Dasa Pandita. The two brothers, Sri Gaura Nityananda, are eternally present in his house. If you give me your permission, I will go there to become his disciple.”
His father asked:
“But Duhkhiya, how will you get there?”
“Father, there are many people from here who go there to bath in the Ganges. I will go with them.”
His father deliberated for a great while on this matter and after some time he gave his permission.
[1] utsahan niscayad dhairyat / tat-tat-karma-pravartanat / sanga-tyagat sato vrtteḥ / sadbhir bhaktiḥprasidhyati (Upadesamrita #3)
[2] Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23
[3] Annaprasana means introducing solid food to the child, i.e. feeding rice or solid food for the first time.
[4] The ceremony of the first haircut of a child.
[5] Ambika Kalna is in the state of West Bengal. It’s quite far from Dharendra and since Duhkhi (Syamananda) was still very young Krishna Mandal was worried about his safety.
This is a section of the book “Syamananda, the Joy of Radharani (English)”.
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