When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began His sankirtana movement in Navadvipa, Srila Haridasa Thakura (Haridāsa Ṭhākura) was at His side: singing through the night in Srivasa's house, carrying the holy name from door to door with Nityananda Prabhu, and dancing before the Lord in the great procession against the Kazi. These were the years before Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. Haridasa's life with Him at Puri after that is told in Life With Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Puri.
Nights of Kirtana at Srivasa's House #
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came back from Gaya, where Isvara Puri had initiated Him, and He was showing all the signs of love of Godhead (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 17.9). Soon He began the congregational chanting (saṅkīrtana) of the holy names. Haridasa, who had been chanting near Shantipura for years, came to Navadvipa to live among pure devotees such as Advaita Acharya, and joined this kirtana (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya 8). Vrindavana Dasa Thakura names him among the small group who chanted with the Lord through the night. They kept the doors closed so that scoffers could not come in and mock them (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 17.35):
"When the Vaishnavas heard that the Lord had begun His sankirtan pastimes, they all were overjoyed. Every night He would hold kirtan in the house of Shrivasa Pandit, sometimes at the house of Chandrashekhara Acharya. Nityananda, Gadadhara, Advaita, Shrivasa, Vidyanidhi, Murari, Hiranya and Hari Das were all there." (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya 8.110-112, as translated in Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj's Sri Chaitanya: His Life and Associates)
The Day the Lord Showed His Wounds #
One day in the house of Srivasa Thakura, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sat on the bed of Lord Vishnu and remained absorbed in His divine mood for seven praharas, about twenty-one hours. Devotees call this the maha-prakasha, the great revelation. Srila Prabhupada writes that on this day "He offered His blessings to Haridāsa Ṭhākura" (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 17.18, purport).
Chaitanya-bhagavata tells what that blessing was. The Lord called Haridasa and spoke of the day he had been caned through the twenty-two marketplaces. He said He had come down with His disc in hand, ready to destroy the men who were beating His devotee. But Haridasa was praying for those same men, and the Lord could not act against his prayer. So He laid His own body over Haridasa's and took the blows Himself. Then He uncovered His back and showed the marks of the cane. Haridasa fell unconscious on hearing this. When he woke, the Lord revealed His divine form to him and praised him. In Tirtha Maharaj's telling, the Lord said: "Anyone who even sees Hari Das becomes free from all bondage. Even great gods like Brahma and Shiva desire Hari Das's company. Even the Ganges desires his touch." (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya 10, as retold in Tirtha Maharaj's Sri Chaitanya: His Life and Associates)
Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami records the same blessing in one line:
haridāsa ṭhākurere karila prasāda
ācārya-sthāne mātāra khaṇḍāila aparādha
"After this incident the Lord blessed Haridāsa Ṭhākura and vanquished the offense of His mother at the home of Advaita Ācārya." (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 17.71)
In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains: "On the mahā-prakāśa day, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu embraced Haridāsa Ṭhākura and informed him that he was none other than an incarnation of Prahlāda Mahārāja."
Preaching Door to Door With Nityananda #
Soon the Lord wanted the holy name to go beyond Srivasa's closed doors, so He chose Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa as His messengers:
"Listen, listen, Nityananda. Listen, Hari Das. I wish you to go and communicate my order to everyone. Go to every house and beg people to chant the names of Krishna, worship Krishna, study about Krishna. Other than this, say nothing and make others say nothing. At the end of the day, come here and tell me the results of your preaching. You will beg people in this way, and I will come and destroy those who do not comply with my discus in my hand." (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya 13.7-11, as translated in Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj's Sri Chaitanya: His Life and Associates)
Srila Prabhupada confirms: "By the order of Lord Caitanya, both Nityānanda Prabhu and Haridāsa Ṭhākura used to preach the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness door to door" (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 17.17, purport). One day they went to Jagai and Madhai, two brothers from a good brahmana family who had fallen into drinking and every kind of sin. The drunken brothers chased them away (Adi 17.17, purport). Tirtha Maharaj, following Chaitanya-bhagavata, adds a funny detail. The aged Haridasa could not keep up with Nityananda's running, and afterwards he told Advaita Acharya that he would never again go preaching with such an unpredictable companion (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya 13, as retold by Tirtha Maharaj).
Still, the story ended in mercy. When Madhai struck Nityananda with a piece of a clay pot, the Lord rushed there to punish the brothers. But when He saw that Jagai repented, He embraced him, and both brothers were cleansed and given the holy name (Adi 17.17, purport).
Constable, Rescuer and Dancer #
When the Lord staged a drama of Krishna's pastimes in the house of Chandrashekhara Acharya, Haridasa came on stage dressed as the village watchman, with a staff in his hand. Srila Prabhupada notes: "In the dramas performed by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Haridāsa Ṭhākura played the part of a police chief" (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 10.43, purport). His part was to wake everyone up for Krishna's service, and Chaitanya-bhagavata records his call: "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Shrivasa will dance dressed as Narada Muni." (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya 18.100, as translated by Tirtha Maharaj)
On another day, a brahmana's wife kept taking the dust of His feet. This pained the Lord so much that He ran and threw Himself into the Ganges, and it was Nityananda and Haridasa who pulled Him out (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 17.243-245).
When the Chand Kazi tried to ban the kirtana, the Lord answered with a great procession, lit by torches and divided into three parties. "In the front party danced Ṭhākura Haridāsa, and in the middle party danced Advaita Ācārya with great jubilation" (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 17.136). Chaitanya-bhagavata describes him there as well: "Then Hari Das, the ocean of Krishna-rasa, on Mahaprabhu's order, danced beautifully." (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya 23.204, as translated by Tirtha Maharaj)
