Joyful and Curious Nimai

Illustration 1. Years passed, and little Nimai became a schoolboy. His body had grown, but His kind dark eyes and golden radiance remained.

Illustration 2. His teacher, Gangadasa Pandita, wrote letters on palm leaves. Nimai learned every lesson amazingly fast.

Illustration 3. He asked many questions and discovered new meanings in words. Sometimes even the older students did not know how to answer Him.

Illustration 4. After class, the boys ran to the Ganges. Serious lessons turned into laughter, splashing, and play.

Illustration 5. Nimai loved to tease His friends. Yet every evening He returned to His manuscripts and studied carefully.

Illustration 6. His elder brother Vishvarupa often listened to stories about Krishna. Nimai sat nearby and listened closely.

Illustration 7. One day Vishvarupa left home to dedicate his life completely to the Lord. His parents missed him deeply.

Illustration 8. Jagannatha Mishra feared that learning might also take Nimai away. For a short time, he stopped his son’s lessons.

Illustration 9. Without school, Nimai became even more mischievous. His family understood that His lively mind needed good work.

Illustration 10. His father allowed Him to study again. Before long, Nimai was teaching grammar to other boys.

Illustration 11. Later Jagannatha Mishra became very ill and left this world. Sachi was filled with sorrow.

Illustration 12. Nimai stayed near His mother and cared for the home. His learning now helped far beyond the classroom.

Illustration 13. A child’s body grows and changes, but the soul remains the same self. Our abilities become especially precious when we use them to help others.

Illustration 14. By day Nimai taught His students, and by evening He brought His mother what she needed. The playful boy was becoming a caring young man.

Illustration 15. Navadvipa knew Him as Nimai Pandita. Yet the most important part of His journey was still ahead.

Authoritative sources

The story and its short spiritual teaching were checked against these editions of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books:

• Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā Chapter 15
• Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 2.13