Transcript made by: Sai Nidhi and Shristhi Nidi Mataji
Devotee: ... brought me some letters. I will appreciate it very much if you're going to give some lectures. I appreciate it very much.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, everywhere I go I speak.
Devotee: Thank you very much.
Gour Govinda Swami: (laughs)
Devotee: Please forgive any inconvenience we made for you.
Gour Govinda Swami: No, no, no, whatever happens is accepted as Kṛṣṇa's arrangement. Anyhow, He has brought me here. (laughs)
Devotee: Ah.
Gour Govinda Swami: (laughs) Otherwise, I would not have come here.
Devotee: Yes.
Gour Govinda Swami: He brought me here anyway, so I have to adjust. (laughs) I am completely dependent on Kṛṣṇa's arrangement. That's it. There are no such demands from me. And Kṛṣṇa knows, yes, something is happening. (laughs) Nothing is impossible for Kṛṣṇa. He can do and undo things. (laughs) Yes? Yes.
Devotee: The class was very nice this morning, your explanation.
Gour Govinda Swami: Bhāgavatam class is similar. This is a Caitanya-caritāmṛta class.
Devotee: Yes.
Gour Govinda Swami: We... They run them all two days a week, Thursday and Friday.
Devotee: Oh.
Gour Govinda Swami: Caitanya-caritāmṛta class. I have started it. See?
Devotee: All right. You spoke this morning on a verse by Mādhavendra Purī, and you said that that's the mood of śṛṅgāra-rasa. You also spoke before about why Kṛṣṇa was blue—because that is the complexion of śṛṅgāra-rasa.
Gour Govinda Swami: Oh.
Devotee: Also, you mentioned that that's the mood of Rādhārāṇī. But you said that Rādhārāṇī's mahābhāva is this golden color of Lord Caitanya. So, what is the difference between śṛṅgāra-rasa and mahābhāva?
Gour Govinda Swami: Mahābhāva is complete when śṛṅgāra-rasa is completely ripened. That becomes yellow.
Devotee: Like a mango?
Gour Govinda Swami: Like green mango turning into a ripe mango. Kṛṣṇa is Śyāma, Śyāmasundara. Śyāmasundara—blue.
Devotee: Yes.
Gour Govinda Swami: But Gaurāṅga is yellow. So Śyāmasundara means the rasa, the mellow, is unripe. Mellow is unripe. So, when Śyāmasundara became Gaurasundara, then the mellow is ripened. The mellow is ripened.
Devotee: So, you said this morning that this expresses śṛṅgāra-rasa, because Kṛṣṇa has now gone to Mathurā. So that was the mood of vipralambha. Isn't that mahābhāva?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, in mahābhāva one should feel that pang of separation.
Devotee: Really?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yeah. That started from this Mādhavendra Purī in this succession... sampradāya, the Madhvācārya sampradāya.
Devotee: That verse is expressing it.
Gour Govinda Swami: It was not there up to Lakṣmīpati.
Devotee: Oh.
Gour Govinda Swami: Lakṣmīpati is the spiritual master of Mādhavendra Purī. It first sprouted from Mādhavendra Purī. Therefore, Mādhavendra Purī is considered the root of the tree of śṛṅgāra-rasa.
If śṛṅgāra-rasa is the tree, then Mādhavendra Purī is the root, the mūla.
Devotee: So you said that Lord Caitanya is a branch of that śṛṅgāra—
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.
Devotee: Śṛṅgāra.
Gour Govinda Swami: That's... Yes. Īśvara Purī is the main trunk.
Devotee: Trunk.
Gour Govinda Swami: Mādhavendra Purī is the root, Īśvara Purī the trunk. And Caitanya is the first main branch coming out, like this is the body, trunk—
Devotee: Trunk.
Gour Govinda Swami: —up to this point, the shoulder.
Devotee: Mm-hmm.
Gour Govinda Swami: So from the shoulder, the hand comes out. It's like a branch, the main branch. Then sub-branches like this. So it's a skandha, this shoulder. Skandha, shoulder. Caitanya, you see, Caitanya is the shoulder, skandha.
Then His followers, anugata-jana, they are sub-branches, sub-branches like that.
Devotee: The śākhās.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. Branches, twigs, like this.
Devotee: So it's the tree of śṛṅgāra-rasa—
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.
Devotee: —which is the unripened one, yellow.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yeah.
Devotee: So is it that the tree becomes more ripe as it goes up?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. It became ripened when Mahāprabhu appeared. Therefore, we say Śyāmasundara became Gaurasundara.
Devotee: So was Mādhavendra Purī's mood, as expressed in that verse, fully ripened? Or was it still śṛṅgāra?
Gour Govinda Swami: His mood? His mood is the same mood as Rādhārāṇī's.
Devotee: Mādhavendra Purī's?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.
Devotee: Mahābhāva?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. That's Rādhārāṇī's mood. Yes. That I was explaining: ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he mathurā-nātha. "Now You have become Mathurānātha, Lord of Mathurā, leaving us." That's Rādhārāṇī's mood. kadāvalokyase. "When shall I see You? My heart is mourning. What shall I do? I cannot think: kiṁ karomy aham?"
Devotee: That’s vipralambha-bhāva.
Gour Govinda Swami: That’s the mood of Rādhārāṇī. When this rasa, śṛṅgāra-rasa, becomes a tree, then Mādhavendra Purī is the root in this sampradāya, the Madhva sampradāya.
In other sampradāyas there is no śṛṅgāra-rasa. It is here in Madhva. It is not in Rāmānujācārya's sampradāya, not in Viṣṇusvāmī's sampradāya, or Nimbārka's sampradāya. It is only in the Madhva sampradāya, and Mādhavendra Purī is the root—it begins from here. So Mahāprabhu accepted this sampradāya, though these four sampradāyas are bona fide Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas.
catvāras te kalau bhāvyā hy utkale puruṣottamāt
Padma Purāṇa says:
ataḥ kalau bhaviṣyanti catvāraḥ sampradāyinaḥ
śrī-brahma-rudra-sanakā vaiṣṇavāḥ kṣiti-pāvanāḥ
catvāras te kalau bhāvyā hy utkale puruṣottamāt
Padma Purāṇa vacana Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu has quoted in Prameya-ratnāvalī. Prameya-ratnāvalī.
So these four sampradāyas are bona fide Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas in Kali-yuga. Still, there is some difference, very little, subtle differences—very subtle differences in their philosophies: the philosophy of these four ācāryas: Rāmānujācārya’s philosophy, Madhvācārya's philosophy, Viṣṇusvāmī’s philosophy, Nimbārkācārya's philosophy. Very subtle differences are there regarding dvaita and advaita.
Madhvācārya completely eradicated advaita-vāda. He strongly preached only dvaita-vāda, dvaita—two. You might have seen his image: very stout, strong, showing two fingers.
Devotee: His incarnation?
Gour Govinda Swami: Eh?
Devotee: Incarnation of who?
Gour Govinda Swami: He is an incarnation of Vāyudeva, a Vāyu incarnation. Tṛtīyā mārutī tanuḥ—the third incarnation. The first incarnation is Bajarangajī, Hanumān; the second incarnation is Bhīmasena; the third is Madhvācārya. Tṛtīyā mārutī tanuḥ. Very strong, stout, with two fingers held up.
So he completely eradicated advaita-vāda, preaching so strongly against advaita-vāda. But exclusive advaita or exclusive dvaita is not complete. So Mahāprabhu came, took the essence of the philosophy from the four ācāryas, and gave this acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Acintya—inconceivably one and different. Acintya-bhedābheda-tattva—that is the most sublime philosophy, there is nothing beyond that. Catvāras te kalau bhāvyā hy utkale puruṣottamāt—that verse is there, as the concluding line.
In Utkala-khaṇḍa, Puruṣottama-kṣetra, Purī Dhāma. That prophecy was given 5,000 years ago, and it came true 500 years ago when Mahāprabhu arrived after taking sannyāsa and met Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, who was a follower of Śaṅkarācārya. Māyāvāda—he was preaching Māyāvāda.
And there was a discussion between Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Mahāprabhu on the Vedānta-sūtra. After humbly listening for seven days to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Mahāprabhu spoke, and there He presented this philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda.
So, Utkala Puruṣottama. This is the Kṣetra Dhāma, Puruṣottama Dhāma. This is the place, Utkala-khaṇḍa, where this philosophy first emerged. The prophecy foretold that it would appear here in Utkala-khaṇḍa, Puruṣottama-khaṇḍa, and then spread throughout the world. Now it is spreading. The prophecy has come true.
Devotee: When I was in Purī the other day, I got a map of Purī Dhāma.
Gour Govinda Swami: Mm.
Devotee: And it is in the shape of a conch. But it was described as only the Purī township. And it says that Bhubaneswar-kṣetra is in the shape of a—
Devotee: Cakra.
Devotee: —cakra, and Koṇārka-kṣetra is in the shape of a—
Devotee: Padma, lotus. And so you've also described this as the mouth of the conch, and that the whole Puruṣottama-kṣetra Dhāma is also—
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, it begins from here. That is what the Skanda Purāṇa says. Vyāsadeva said so.
Devotee: So those other kṣetras are areas within the main Dhāma.
Gour Govinda Swami: Within it.
Devotee: Within the main Dhāma.
Gour Govinda Swami: Within it.
Devotee: Is there any place where we can get sketches? I was thinking for the newsletter to try and find a sketch of the Puruṣottama-kṣetra Dhāma, like they've made for Purī town.
Gour Govinda Swami: Hmm?
Devotee: Is there a place where we can find a sketch like they've done of Purī township or Purī Dhāma, where all the temples are marked?
Gour Govinda Swami: Oh, that may be available in Purī. You can find it. From the tourist department you may find it. You can ask Satyanarayan. He works in the tourist department; he can provide it.
Devotee: That covers the whole of Puruṣottama-kṣetra Dhāma.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. The tourist department might have published that map. Soon, I think so. He can email you... yeah.
Devotee: One question, Gurudeva? Why did Lord Caitanya choose to give the highest conception of divine love—Kṛṣṇa prema—to the lowest people, the people of Kali-yuga?
Gour Govinda Swami: Because the people of Kali-yuga cannot perform austerities. What can they do?
Their lifespan is short because of sinful activities and sinful habits. There are many, many disturbances. Everything is degraded.
mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ [SB 1.1.10]
Isn't it? Everything is degraded: consciousness is degraded, fortune is degraded, memory power is degraded. Everything is bad. There are so many disturbances and problems in Kali-yuga. What can these people do? How could they otherwise attain it?
Devotee: But the lowest receive the highest.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. That is Mahāprabhu's wonderful mercy: mahā-vadānyāvatāra. It is given to the most degraded, the most fallen, the most durācārī, patita, pāmara.
Call that boy, Rāmabhadra. Call him? Patita, pāmara, you see. They are the most degraded, most fallen, most sinful persons. What can they do on their own? So He showers His mercy upon such persons.
Devotee: So in previous ages, people would go to Vaikuṇṭha? Or...
Gour Govinda Swami: It is very difficult to attain this prema; it is said to be durlabha. Therefore it is sung:
atyanta durlabha prema karibāre dāna
śikhāya śaraṇāgati bhakatera prāṇa
Durlabha. Brahmāra durlabha. Even Brahmā cannot easily attain it. So Brahmā, Śiva, Nārada, Sanaka—all appeared in human form to receive it.
Now the floodgates are open. The inundation is there: a flood of prema, prema-banyā. This is the opportunity: "Chalo, chalo, chalo!" Otherwise, you cannot receive it. They all came. Because Mahāprabhu rarely descends—Mahāprabhu comes only once in a day of Brahmā, in a particular Kali-yuga. So He has come. Yes?
Devotee: When these demigods took birth on earth to take part in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's līlā, did they at the time of birth forget who they actually were until Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed it to them, or were they always conscious of who they were?
Gour Govinda Swami: What does he say?
Devotee: The demigods who came to participate in Caitanya-līlā—in that birth, did they forget who they were until Mahāprabhu revealed their original identities, or were they always conscious of their demigod identity?
Gour Govinda Swami: They came to receive prema.
Devotee: And did they retain consciousness of their demigod identity?
Gour Govinda Swami: They know, because they came with that explicit purpose.
At the same time, under the influence of the Yogamāyā potency, one forgets when taking part in Mahāprabhu's līlā. They forget. That's all right. (laughs)
Devotee: Like Haridāsa Ṭhākura—he did not think himself Brahmā.
Gour Govinda Swami: No, no, no. In Haridāsa Ṭhākura, three personalities are present. Not only Brahmā. Three are combined: Brahmā Haridāsa (principally Brahmā), then Ṛcīka Muni's son, and Prahlāda. Three are present.
Just like Rāya Rāmānanda. Three are present in Rāya Rāmānanda: Lalitā-sakhī is there, Arjuna is there, and another sakhī, Arjuniya—she is also there. Three.
Devotee: It's inconceivable. It's inconceivable to us—three personalities being manifest as one person.
Gour Govinda Swami: Inconceivable. Yes, inconceivable. (laughs) We cannot fathom it. From our perspective, it is inconceivable.
Devotee: The only material analogy we have is being possessed by a ghost—two entities in one body. That's our only frame of reference.
Gour Govinda Swami: (laughs) You can only perceive up to that level! (laughs) To that extent only. It is an inconceivable līlā. Ah, completely inconceivable.
Devotee: So he says he has more than one ghost in him! (laughs)
Gour Govinda Swami: More ghosts! (laughs) If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, no ghost will approach you. They will flee in fear, or they will be delivered. They will become fortunate. (laughs)
Devotee: If someone is chanting, a ghost cannot remain?
Gour Govinda Swami: No. Ghosts will never come near. And if any ghosts are present, they are delivered.
Many ghosts were here (laughs) because this land was previously a cremation ground. Villagers used to burn dead bodies here. Yes. (laughs) Many ghosts dwelled here. Now there are no ghosts. Anyhow, they were fortunate ghosts! Hare Saṅkīrtana went on, Śrīla Prabhupāda came here, we built this temple, and they were all delivered. Otherwise, they could not have been delivered. You see?
Devotee: By pure chanting. Then they will not come.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, by pure chanting.
Devotee: Even ghostly characters like us receive benefit.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. (laughs) Ghosts receive benefit, and so does anyone. (laughs)
Devotee: There are still two ghosts inside me: bhukti and mukti.
Gour Govinda Swami: Bhukti and mukti. (laughs) Two piśācīs.
Devotee: Two piśācīs.
Gour Govinda Swami: Witches—two witches.
Devotee: This morning you were explaining how this distribution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to all people proceeds through kṛpā-śakti.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, kṛpā-śakti. Yes.
Devotee: So why is it that some people accept it and others do not? And also, why do some people, even after accepting it, leave and return to material sense gratification?
Gour Govinda Swami: You see, Mahāprabhu is immensely merciful, wonderfully merciful. He distributed it without discrimination throughout this material world. But one must be willing to receive it. I may give, but you have to accept it.
He offers it freely. Yet there is a verse: pāṣaṇḍī yata paḍuyā adhama. When the inundation arrived—the flood of divine love, prema-banyā—all were immersed. But the pāṣaṇḍīs and fallen scholars ran away crying, "Flee, flee from this person!"
Devotee: The lowest of the student community.
Gour Govinda Swami: The lowest of the student community.
Then Mahāprabhu considered: "What is this? I desire that everyone become submerged in this flood of love, yet these adhama paḍuyās and pāṣaṇḍīs are running away. What shall I do?"
Then He resolved to take sannyāsa: "Unless I take sannyāsa, I cannot deliver these pāṣaṇḍīs and adhama paḍuyās." Because in this culture, great respect is accorded to sannyāsīs, especially by followers of the Māyāvāda school. Therefore He accepted sannyāsa from Keśava Bhāratī.
People regard sannyāsīs as manifestations of Nārāyaṇa; they greet them saying, "Oṁ namo nārāyaṇāya", thinking "I am Nārāyaṇa." People pay homage to them. So Mahāprabhu thought: "When they see a sannyāsī, they will offer obeisances. Then I can place My feet upon their heads and deliver them." (laughs) With that intention, He accepted sannyāsa. He took sannyāsa.
Devotee: You also mentioned that Lord Nityānanda does not allow anyone to escape. Even if someone resists: "No, you must take it."
Gour Govinda Swami: Just as with Jagāi and Mādhāi. You see? (laughs) Mār kheye prema dila. He was struck and bleeding, yet He still bestowed prema.
Nityānanda Prabhu is even more merciful and magnanimous than Śrī Gaurāṅga. That is His nature.
The other day they staged that drama—a very moving performance. Mahāprabhu summoned the Sudarśana-cakra, but Nityānanda Prabhu intervened and pleaded for them. He is so magnanimous, extraordinarily magnanimous and merciful—Nityānanda Prabhu.
Devotee: You said there is an unlimited supply of this fruit of prema. Yet the other day it was noted that when Śrīla Prabhupāda was asked how many people in the world are situated on this topmost platform and possess prema, he replied only four or five true devotees. Who is receiving this fruit? Prabhupāda said it is extremely durlabha, very rare.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. It is not so easy to encounter such an exalted devotee. They are rare, exalted souls.
As stated: koṭiṣv api mahā-mune [SB 6.14.5]. Out of millions and millions of persons, perhaps one such realized devotee may be found. That is a fact.
Devotee: Do you have any of that fruit in your room? (laughs)
Gour Govinda Swami: Huh?
Devotee: (laughing) Do you keep some of that fruit in your room?
Devotee: I suspect he keeps some in the back room!
Gour Govinda Swami: (laughs) The fruit is not confined to this room, you see. It is not confined to a room, Baba. (laughs) It is not a mundane fruit that you can see with physical eyes. (laughs)
Devotee: But Gaura Maṇḍala Prabhu mentioned that some people initially receive it, but later give it up.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.
Devotee: So have they not truly attained it?
Gour Govinda Swami: They may receive the seed, but they fail to cultivate the taste, and there is also the hazard of aparādha.
Mahāprabhu states: niraparādhe nāma laile pāya prema-dhana [CC Antya 4.71]. If one chants without offenses, one attains the treasure of prema. If you commit aparādha, you will forfeit it. Yes, you will lose it. If you are given a precious gift, you must preserve it with great care so it is not lost.
There is an incident illustrating this. A rumor had spread in Vṛndāvana: people claimed that the previous night they had seen Kṛṣṇa dancing on the hoods of Kāliya. Hearing this repeatedly, Mahāprabhu's servant approached Him and pleaded: "Please permit me to go see Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has appeared and is dancing upon the hoods of Kāliya!"
Mahāprabhu slapped him: "You foolish rascal! Why would Kṛṣṇa appear in that manner in Kali-yuga? Kena darśana dibe? Very well, you may go tomorrow."
He was directly in the personal presence of Kṛṣṇa, yet he failed to recognize that he was already with Kṛṣṇa! Mahāprabhu slapped him. (laughs)
The next morning, some local residents arrived, and Mahāprabhu asked them, "Did you see Kṛṣṇa dancing on the hood of Kāliya in the Yamunā?"
They replied, "No, Mahāprabhu, that was not Kṛṣṇa. It was simply a local fisherman. Every night he goes out fishing with his boat, a net, and a torch. From a distance across the dark water, people mistook the dark boat for the coils of Kāliya Nāga, the standing fisherman for Kṛṣṇa, and his burning torch for the jewel on Kāliya's head! Then people spread rumors: 'Kṛṣṇa has appeared!'"
Mahāprabhu turned to His servant: "Now go and have your darśana!" (laughs) You see?
Devotee: Very cheap Kṛṣṇa.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. Very cheap Kṛṣṇa. (laughs)
Devotee: Tell me, Guru Mahārāja, he had no spiritual vision to recognize that Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, he lacked spiritual vision.
Even then, those gentlemen addressed Mahāprabhu: "Mahāprabhu, You are Nārāyaṇa. You are Kṛṣṇa Himself."
He immediately covered His ears in protest: "No, no, no! I am merely a jīva." Because Mahāprabhu wore the robes of a sannyāsī, and people customarily address sannyāsīs as Nārāyaṇa.
[They said,] "You are Nārāyaṇa."
[He replied,] "No, no, no. A jīva is never Nārāyaṇa. I am an insignificant jīva. A living entity can never be God."
Mahāprabhu acted this way to instruct us. He covered His ears and spoke in that manner. (laughs)
Devotee: Also, when Mahāprabhu traveled through South India, His servant was lured away by the Bhaṭṭathāris.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, Kṛṣṇadāsa.
Devotee: How was that possible? He was directly accompanying and serving Mahāprabhu, yet Māyā overcame him?
Gour Govinda Swami: (laughs) That is a wonderful pastime of Mahāprabhu. (laughs)
Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote that even if one receives the mercy of the spiritual master, one must still discipline one's senses. It remains the personal duty of the disciple to govern his own senses; otherwise, a fall down is inevitable.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. Why was he captured? Because his senses were uncontrolled.
Uncontrolled senses, yes. But another essential truth is also there: How can I control my senses, O Hṛṣīkeśa, unless You kindly intervene?
In his song Gopīnāth, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura laments: hāra ye menechi āmi—"I admit my defeat. I tried my utmost to subdue this restless mind, pāgala mana, but I failed, I failed. I concede defeat."
tumi hṛṣīkeśa, hṛṣīka damiyā,
tāro 'he saṁsṛti-ghore
"You are Hṛṣīkeśa, the master and regulator of all senses. Please subdue my senses and deliver me from this terrible whirlpool of material existence."
Devotee: So if our senses are truly controlled, it is not accomplished by our independent power.
Gour Govinda Swami: How could one control them independently?
Therefore: hari-guru-caraṇopāsanāśrayaḥ. That is the true shelter: taking refuge in the worship of the lotus feet of Hari and guru.
The spiritual master instructs what to do and what to avoid: "Follow these principles strictly. Then your mind will be controlled. Otherwise, it cannot be controlled."
Devotee: In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is that verse: matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā...
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes:
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
[SB 7.5.30]
Prahlāda Mahārāja's statement.
Devotee: That verse explains that one whose senses are uncontrolled, who is determined to chew the chewed within material life, cannot develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness by personal endeavor, by the instruction of others, or by combined efforts. If someone only desires material sense gratification, he will never endeavor for spiritual elevation. So what recourse remains?
Gour Govinda Swami: Because he does not want it! How can he be helped when he lacks the desire?
Even if a well-wishing friend approaches and counsels him: "My dear friend, why are you persisting in this? This is harmful. Why remain absorbed in sinful sense gratification?"—that person will refuse the advice. Instead, he behaves duplicitously and makes excuses.
There is a story illustrating this: Two friends lived in Nadia on the bank of the Gaṅgā opposite Māyāpur, where the devotees of Gaurāṅga resided. They shared a close friendship. One friend was a devoted Vaiṣṇava, a follower of Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, while the other was a staunch materialist, a karmī.
The Vaiṣṇava friend reflected: "How can I genuinely help my friend? I must take him across the Gaṅgā to visit that exalted Vaiṣṇava Mahārāja. If he receives his association, he will attain the true purpose of human life."
He appealed to him: "My friend, please come with me. Let us cross the Gaṅgā. An exalted Vaiṣṇava Mahārāja is residing there, a saintly soul. We should seek his association."
His friend answered evasively: "Yes, what you say sounds very noble, but I have no time. I have extensive business affairs to manage. When I find leisure, perhaps I will go." In this way, he deflected the invitation.
Yet, whenever a theatrical troupe or musical drama performed fifty or a hundred miles away, he would eagerly travel the entire distance and sit awake through the night to watch! For mundane entertainment he had ample time, but he had no time to cross the river to see a sādhu.
The Vaiṣṇava understood: "He is so deeply engrossed in materialism that he has no taste for spiritual association. Nevertheless, as his sincere friend, I must bring him across by any means possible."
So one day he said, "My friend, have you heard the news? Across the river, an exceptional opera party has arrived and is staging plays. Will you come?"
"Oh yes! Certainly, I must see it!"
He agreed immediately. Both walked down to the bank of the Gaṅgā. But just as they were about to step into the boat, the materialistic friend grew suspicious: "Wait, my friend is deceiving me—he is taking me to that Mahārāja!"
He immediately invented an excuse: "Oh my friend, I suffer from a severe ailment! The moment I step aboard a boat, my head spins, I vomit, and I faint. I can never travel by boat. Please wait until summer when the riverbed dries up—then we shall walk across!"
The Vaiṣṇava exclaimed: "You deceitful, crooked hypocrite! Kapaṭī! Do you not realize that in summer the waters of the Gaṅgā swell even higher from melting snows? The Gaṅgā never dries up! I tried my best to deliver you, but you refuse."
A crooked, insincere person cannot receive the mercy. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to narrate this story.
Mahāprabhu offers the mercy freely, but why are people unable to receive it? That insincerity is the reason.
Devotee: Mmm.
Gour Govinda Swami: All right. Thank you. Hari bol! Govinda!
Devotee: Right.
Gour Govinda Swami: Hari, Hari, Hari, Hari.
Devotee: Jaya Śrīla Gurudeva kī jaya!