(7/9) Madhavendra Puri's Pastimes in Odisha

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha Palli, evening class
19 March 2019, part 7
Translated from Bengali

We are doing the parikrama of Koladwip tomorrow. You have heard about Srila Madhavendra Puripad today, and there is one more thing left to say. Please listen to it. One time, Gopal stole ksir (sweet rice) for Madhavendra Puri.

When Madhavendra Puri came to Odisha to collect Malaya sandalwood for the Lord, he first went to Lord Gopinath's temple to offer his obeisance. Seeing that the Lord was offered sweet rice, he thought, 'I wonder what that sweet rice tastes like! If I could try it, I would be able to make this sweet rice for my Gopal as well.' But then he thought, 'No, I am just greedy for food! It is a desire of my tongue!' He quickly left the temple and quietly sat outside.

In the evening, when Gopinath's pujari finished offering bhoga to the Deity (he offered twelve pots of sweet rice), he took the offering away and went to rest – he did not notice that Gopinath had stolen one pot and hid it away under His altar (simhasana). At night, Gopinath came to the pujari in a dream.

'O pujari!' the Lord said, 'My great devotee Madhavendra Puri is sitting alone at the marketplace, chanting the Holy Name. Go and find him. I have kept one pot of sweet rice for him.'

'How will I recognise him?' the pujari asked.

'Go to the marketplace and call out to him by his name.'

The pujari awoke and went to the marketplace. He was walking around, calling out, 'Where is Madhavendra Puri? Gopinath has stolen sweet rice for you!'

Eventually, Madhavendra Puri heard him and admitted, 'I am Madhav.'

'Oh, it is you?' The pujari immediately fell in a prostrate obeisance in front of him. 'Here, the Lord has stolen this ksir for you.'

After taking that sweet rice prasad, Madhavendra Puri broke the clay pot that the sweet rice was in, made a knot with his uttariya and tied the clay pieces in it. Later, whenever he remembered what had happened, he would take a piece of that clay and put it in his mouth – every time he ate it, he would become overwhelmed with divine love. The night when he got that ksir, Madhavendra Puri thought, 'I cannot stay here. If people hear in the morning what has happened, they will keep talking about me.' For fear of pratistha (name and fame), Madhavendra Puri fled the town and went to straight to Puri. But before he could even reach Puri, the news had already reached there. Nobody can stop pratistha. 'Vaisnavi pratistha tate kara nistha (বৈষ্ণবী প্রতিষ্ঠা তাতে কর নিষ্ঠা): firmly establish yourself as a servant of the Lord' (Vaishnav Ke?'). You must remember this.

You have also heard the name of Ramachandra Puri.

Sri Madhavendra Puripad would often recite this sloka:

অয়ি দীনদয়ার্দ্র নাথ হে
মথুরানাথ কদাবলোক্যসে ।
হৃদয়ং ত্বদলোককাতরং
দয়িত ভ্রাম্যতি কিং করোম্যহম্ ॥

ayi dina-dayardra natha he
mathura-natha kadavalokyase
hrdayam tvad-aloka-kataram
dayita bhramyati kim karomy aham

'O gentle-hearted Lord, ever-gracious upon the destitute, O Lord of Mathura! When shall I see You again? In Your absence, my broken heart trembles. Beloved! What shall I do now?'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.4.197)

'O Mathuranath, ever-gracious towards the poor! When will I behold You? Deprived of Your darshan, my grief-stricken heart is restless! O Dayita (Beloved)! What shall I do now?' Mahaprabhu would relish this verse and become intoxicated with divine love, and Nityananda Prabhu would take Him on His lap.

One day, when Madhavendra Puri was reciting this verse and crying, his disciple Ramachandra Puri came to him and tried to teach his guru, saying, 'Why are you crying? You are transcendental, you are above all that...' Madhavendra Puri became angry, 'Get out, sinner! Get out of here! I am dying in this agony and you come to give me more agony!' He gave up his disciple. It is said that when a guru rejects somebody, this person has no prospect – there is no chance for such a person to ever reach the Lord. In the end, that Ramachandra Puri went to Puri and then vanished – nobody knows where he went. He had committed an offence at the holy feet of his gurudev.

These are some of the pastimes of Sri Madhavendra Puripad. There are many other things that can be said, but we do not have so much time now. You need to go to rest and take prasad.

— : • : —

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Main Guru of Our Line
2) Madhavendra Puri Meets Gopal
3) Answering the Call
4) Remembering Chapahati
5) Modadrumdwip's Ardent Brahman
6) Esoteric Glory of Modadrumdwip
7) Madhavendra Puri's Pastimes in Odisha
8) Be Unwandering and Unwavering
9) Build Good Habits