Srila Madhavendra Puri's Purity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama, Mahadvadasi
Noon class, 25 March 2021, part 8
Translated from Bengali

When Srila Madhavendra Puri offered the sandalwood to Gopinath, Gopal again came to him in a dream and said,

gopala asiya kahe,—suna he madhava
karpura-chandana ami pailama saba
karpura-sahita ghasi' e-saba chandana
gopinathera ange nitya karaha lepana

Madhavendra Puri dreamed that Gopala came before him and said, "O Madhavendra Puri, I have already received all the sandalwood and camphor. Now just grind all the sandalwood together with the camphor and then smear the pulp on the body of Gopinatha daily until it is finished."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.4.158-159)

So, when it comes to Chandan-yatra, we always apply sandalwood on the body of the Deities. This is the rule—it gets very hot by noon, so you must grind some sandalwood in the morning, then take the Deities' clothes out, and apply the hand-ground sandalwood paste on the body of the Deities; in the evening, you must again take Their clothes off and give Them a nice bath. It is a lot of work. Many do not even like to put clothes on the Deities, but it is necessary to do it.

Sriman Nityananda Prabhu travelled through many holy places together with Srila Madhavendara Puri.

jaya jaya sri madhava puri
gopinatha yanra lagi ksira kaila churi

"Glory, glory to Sri Madhava Puri for whom Gopinath stole sweet rice."

madhava-purire dekhilena nityananda
tata-ksane preme murchha haila nispanda
nityanande dekhi' matra sri-madhava-puri
padila murchhita hai' apana' pasari'

"When Nityananda saw Madhavendra Puri, He was immediately stunned in ecstatic love and fell to the ground unconscious. Seeing Nityananda, Madhavendra Puri forgot himself and fell unconscious too."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.9.159)

madhavendra-prati nityananda mahasaya
guru-buddhi vyatirikta ara na karaya

"Nityananda considered Madhavendra His guru and nothing less."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.9.188)

janilu krsnera krpa achhe mora prati
nityananda-hena bandhu painu samhati
ye-se sthane yadi nityananda-sanga haya
sei sthana sarva-tirtha-vaikunthadi-maya

"Srila Madhavendra Puripad said, 'I know Krishna has bestowed His mercy on me because He has given me the association of Nityananda. Wherever Nityananda's association is found, that place is most sacred and completely transcendental.'"

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.9.183-184)

When Madhavendra Puri expressed his lamentation, he recited a sloka that we find recorded in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita,

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, Madhya-lila, 4.197)

When he cried in this way, Ramachandra Puri came to him saying, "Why are you crying? You are Brahman (guru-brahman)!" Madhavendra Puri was very upset, he said, "Get out of here, sinner!"

The sloka that Srila Madhavendra Puri recited ("ayi dina-dayadra natha he") was composed in his last days, just before his disappearance... Gaudiya Vaishnavs consider this sloka the gist of vipralambha-rasa (the transcendental mellow of divine separation from the Lord).

So, today is the disappearance day of Srila Madhavendra Puri. We have been listening to his glorification for a long time now. Yesterday, there was still something left to tell about Sri Nrisinghadev and a great devotee Prahlad Maharaj, so I will tell it now...

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