Srila Sanatan Goswami's Pastimes

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham
15 November 2010

...In Singapore, Malaysia it is not so cold, they always have the same temperature, but can you imagine how much Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami tolerated in Vrindavan during their whole life? They lived under a tree, and how cold and how hot it was there... Sometimes I think how it was possible to stay like that. But Mahaprabhu sent them there and they stayed there.

Sometimes Sanatan Goswami wanted to stay with Mahaprabhu. He would say, "O Prabhu, Ratha-yatra is finished now and I must be going now," but Mahaprabhu felt that in his mind he did not want to go, so He would tell him, "You can stay here for four months more." (For the chaturmasya—Sravan, Bhadra, Asvin, Kartik months).

Mahaprabhu would say to the devotees, "Pratyabda asibe Gundicha dekhite (প্রত্যব্দ আসিবে সবে গুণ্ডিচ দেখিতে)." He could not say, "You must come every year to see Me," so He would say, "You must come every year to see Gundicha."

One time, Mahaprabhu was sitting at the bhajan kutir of Haridas Thakur in Siddha-bakul. When Sanatan Goswami came, he paid a full obeisance to Mahaprabhu. At that time he had so much skin disease (kandu rasa, কণ্ডু রসা). He had come from Vrindavan to Puri on foot(!), and on the way there was much bad water, the road was often not good, so he got that disease on his body. Sanatan Goswami paid obeisance to Mahaprabhu from far because He did not want Mahaprabhu to touch him. When he got up, Mahaprabhu wanted to come closer, but Sanatan started backing off. Then, Mahaprabhu quickly came to him and forcefully embraced him and all that kandu-rasa touched Mahaprabhu's body. Sanatan Goswami said, "What are you doing, Prabhu!"

He thought, "My body is useless now! Better if I commit suicide..." Mahaprabhu knew about it and said to him, "Have you become crazy? This is not your body, it is My body! It is My property! Why do you want to use and destroy My property? What is this, Sanatan?! I am going to use your body for service of the Lord—I want you to stay in Vrindavan, serve Vaishnavs, preach and write books. This is My plan, and I have entrusted you with My property, I kept it with you, but you want to use it now for other purpose?! What is this?!" Mahaprabhu gave this kind of answer to him, and He told Haridas Thakur also, "Haridas, look after him very well! Make sure he does not do anything wrong!" "Wrong" means Mahaprabhu thought Sanatan Goswami could secretly commit suicide, so He asked Haridas Thakur to be careful and keep an eye on him.

Sanatan Goswami said also, "Hita lagi' ainu muni, haila viparita: I have come here to get some benefit, but it turned out quite the opposite. I was thinking if I could not use this body for service, for the Lord, I can destroy it by jumping under the chariot of Jagannath, but Mahaprabhu does not allow me to do that..."

One time, after Ratha-yatra finished, Sanatan Goswami said to Jagadananda Pandit, "Prabhu, my time is finished now, I have to go again to Vrindavan, but you are so fortunate, you are always with Mahaprabhu..." Jagadananda Pandit said, "Yes, yes, you can go!" Then, Sanatan Goswami came to Mahaprabhu and said sadly,

"Prabhu, Ratha-yatra is finished, I think You want me to go to Vrindavan again... Jagadananda also wants me to go—"

"What? Jagadananda said that? Where is Jaga?!" shouted Mahaprabhu. "Where is he? Kalikara batuya jaga aiche garvi haila! That boy was born only yesterday and now he is teaching you?! He is telling you what to do?!"

("Maryada-langhana Prabhu sahite na paren": the Lord cannot tolerate it if you give disrespect to others. Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami writes it in Chaitanya-charitamrita, it is very nice—if you read it, you can see.)

"Sanatan is my Guru," continued Mahaprabhu when Jagadananda Pandit came there, "and you are teaching him?!"

Sanatan became so shy because he knew Jagadananda was Mahaprabhu's dear and intimate devotee, he always did such a good service, and now in front of him Mahaprabhu was chastising him. Sanatan Goswami said, "Prabhu, what are You saying? You never chastise me, but You are chastising him—You are giving sweet to him and You are giving bitter to me..." Then he said to Jagadananda Pandit, "O Prabhu, I can understand now how much Mahaprabhu loves you!"

Another time, Jagadananda came to Vrindavan and was cooking something that day. Sanatan Goswami went to collect madhukori and when he came back Jagadananda Pandit saw he was wearing a red-colour turban (a mayavadi sannyasi called Mukunda Saraswati had given him some cloth). Seeing the cloth, Jagadananda became very happy, some prem came to him, "How nice! When did Mahaprabhu give you this cloth? When?" Sanatan Goswami said, "No, no, no. Mahaprabhu did not give it to me. Some sannyasi, Mukunda Saraswati, gave it to me." Jagadananda Pandit became so angry—he took the pot with boiling rice in it and charged Sanatan Goswami with it, "I will beat you!!" Jagadananda wanted to beat Sanatan Goswami, and Sanatan Goswami said with admiration, "How much love and affection you have for Mahaprabhu!" Jagadananda Pandit had became angry because Sanatan Goswami knew who Mahaprabhu was, and he could not tolerate that he would use anyone else's cloth.

This pastime teaches also that you cannot take saffron colour or any colour from others—if your Gurudev gives it to you, then you can use it, but you cannot say, "I will get some cloth, dye it myself, and wear it."

It is necessary to serve the devotees, but in anugatya, under the guidance of your Guru—without his guidance you cannot do anything...

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