(10) Mahaprabhu's Diplomacy

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham, 3 July 2019, part 10
Translated from Bengali

I have told you about how Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya got a lesson, about how Raja Prataparudra received mercy, about Govinda Prabhu's lesson. During the parikrama I told you about Shasthi and how Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya cursed her to become a widow, kicking out his son-in-law.

You have also heard about Ramachandra Puri. Although he was a disciple of Sri Madhavendra Puri, he committed an offence to Mahaprabhu. At first, he committed an offence at the holy feet of his guru. Madhavendra Puri always cried and recited this verse:

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

ayi dina-dayardra natha he
mathura-natha kadavalokyase
hrdayam tvadaloka-kataram
dayita bhramyati kim karomyaham

‘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)

One time, Ramachandra Puri (his disciple) came to him and said, 'You are Brahma (transcendental to this world), why are you crying then? You possess all knowledge, so what need is there to cry?' Sri Madhavendra Puri cries for the Lord, but his disciple comes and tells him, 'Why are you crying? You are Brahma!' He threw him out, 'Get out, sinner! I am dying in one agony and you come to give me another agony!' He gave up Ramachandra Puri as his disciple, and Ramachandra Puri left, give up his guru as well.

When he came to Puri, Mahaprabhu treated him with respect, like everybody else, but devotees did not like him. One time, they asked Mahaprabhu, 'Prabhu, You always treat him with so much respect, You give him an honourable place to sit at, but he is criticising You behind Your back.' Mahaprabhu kept quiet and did not say anything.

Do you remember there was also another devotee who came to Mahaprabhu wearing a tiger skin? His name is Brahmananda Bharati. One time, he came wearing a tiger skin, showing that he was a great renunciate. Everybody got excited to see him and immediately told Mahaprabhu, 'Prabhu, look! Brahmananda Bharati has come! Brahmananda Bharati has come!' Mahaprabhu saw him, but He said, 'Where? I cannot see any Brahmananda Bharati here. Where is he?' The devotees pointed at Brahmananda Bharati, and Mahaprabhu replied, 'No, this cannot be Brahmananda Bharati – why would Brahmananda Bharati come wearing a tiger skin?' This is how Mahaprabhu taught him. Such was Mahaprabhu's conception.

You must always remember these things.

Ramachandra Puri always looked for faults in everybody. Vaishnavs are adosa-darasi (they never see anybody's faults). We sing in one of the kirtans, 'Patita adhama ami, adosa-darasa tumi. I am a lowly, fallen soul, and you never see anybody's faults' (Acharya Vandana). Vaishnavs never look for holes in anybody – they will always see their own faults first. But we are just the opposite. We cannot see our own faults, but we always see others' faults. Such is our wrong conception. Ramachandra Puri was also like that.

One time, devotees invited Mahaprabhu to take prasad, and Ramachandra Puri hid nearby and watched. He exclaimed, 'Oh my! He is a sannyasi, but He eats so much!' When Mahaprabhu heard it, He told all the devotees, 'Stop giving Me all this prasad. I will not take prasad at anybody's house now. If you want to feed Me, cook only one vegetable dish, not more than that. He is right!' Everybody was very upset, 'What is this? We invite the Lord, cook nicely for Him and feed Him, but now we will not be able to?' Then, they went to Lord Jagannath and prayed, 'O Jagannath, please remove this man from here!' And Lord Jagannath did that.

Another time, Ramachandra Puri came to Mahaprabhu's room, Gambhira, and said, 'How come You have so many ants in Your room? You must be fond of sweets!' Mahaprabhu did not eat all that, but hearing his words, He thought to Himself, 'I have heard that he has been talking about Me behind My back, but now I see that he is saying it to My face as well!'

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