A Servitor's Mood (Govinda)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham, 22 February 2015

For the service to the Lord, for the service to your Guru, you can make an offence, but for your own enjoyment you cannot make any offence. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu showed this by the example of Govinda; you heard it from Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita.

One day, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had been dancing and chanting all day, and at night He was so tired that He fell asleep in the doorway of His room. Govinda, His servant, would every day massage His feet, but that time he could not go inside the room. He asked Mahaprabhu,

"Prabhu, can You please move? I want to go inside..."

"No, I cannot do it. I am very tired..."

"I do this service every day. Will I not do it today?"

"That is your matter. Whether you do or do not do it, it is up to you..."

That is called sincerity: what I do, I must do every day. Some are doing puja, worshipping, one day, and after that not doing, but if you have a deity, if you have an altar in your house, you must worship every day. If you make an offering for your deity, or at the altar, then you must make the offering every day. You eat every day, you go to the toilet every day, then you must feed your deity every day too. That is what sincerity is.

So, Govinda served Mahaprabhu every day, but that day Mahaprabhu did not allow him to enter the room. Govinda thought, "Oh, I do this service every day, should I stop my service today? No!" So, what did he do? His put his uttariya on Mahaprabhu's body, crossed Him, and put whatever dust fell from his feet on his head.

After he finished massaging Mahaprabhu's feet, he stayed in the room and dozed off. Mahaprabhu took a good rest and, when He woke up at midnight, He saw Govinda was still inside,

"Why you are still here?! Why did you not go to take prasadam and rest?"

"How could I go? You are in the doorway."

"How did you come here then?"

"At that time I came for Your service, but for my own enjoyment—for sleeping and eating—I cannot cross over Your body."

This is a servitor's mood...

In this way Mahaprabhu teaches us, through His devotees. From this example, you can understand how one can commit offence for service, but not for one's own enjoyment.

*Uttariya, an upper garment worn over the right shoulder and under the left arm.

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