They Are Not Māyāvādis, They Are Vraja-vasis

In 2002, Guru Mahārāj led Vraja-mandala parikramā. We went to Ramaṇa-reti in Gokul-mahāvan, one of the twelve forests in Vraja. Reti means sand, and ramaṇa means charming, delightful— pleasure-giving sand. Along with other sakhas, Kṛṣṇa and Balaram performed leisurely plays in this place during their childhood. Today that particular land is being taken care of very nicely by a māyāvādi āśram. They serve prasād freely to all the pilgrims.

Upon our arrival there, Guru Mahārāj was very blissful and he spoke about the glories of that place. He said this was where Krishna and Balaram performed many playful pastimes. Therefore, nobody should be morose there–everyone should be laughing and smiling. Guru Mahārāj was very blissful there. He laughed very sweetly and made all of us laugh loudly too.

After hari-kathā and some playing in the divine sand, the sādhus and sannyāsīs were invited into the dining room. Everyone else followed after them and sat there in a line ready to take prasād.

It was my first Vraja-mandala parikramā with Guru Mahārāj. My mentality was limited then. I was thinking, how can we sit with the māyāvādis and eat? Mahāprabhu says that one should not even see the face of māyāvādis. Now how is it that we are sitting to eat whatever has been cooked and served by them?

I looked around to see that all sannyāsīs and brahmacārīs of our maṭh were sitting in line waiting for the prasād to be served. I revealed my doubts to some devotees and inquired from them. They answered that we should follow senior vaiṣṇavas and that I should eat because seniors are eating. Yet, I could not accept that somehow from inside.

Shortly after that, I noticed Guru Mahārāj was not eating. I thought because he is perfectly situated, he is following the scriptural instructions not to eat at the place of non-vaiṣṇavas. Instead of sitting in line, I stood up and went away. I thought that I should ask Guru Mahārāj why other devotees of our maṭh are eating here.

I saw from a distance that Guru Mahārāj was about to enter the car; one of his legs was inside the car and was in a posture of almost entering inside with his back and head bent. Suddenly, a group of foreign devotees surrounded him to ask some questions. I thought I would join them and ask my question, too. When I reached, to my surprise, they were asking the same question I had also intended to ask.

One devotee asked Guru Mahārāj, “In vaiṣṇava scriptures, it is said that we should not associate with māyāvādis. If one has to follow that strictness, why are they sitting and eating here?"

Now, Gurudev drew his leg out of the car with a characteristic smile over his already effulgent face and replied spontaneously, “They are not māyāvādis. They stay in the Vraja, and hence they are vraja-vasis. They are very dear to Supreme Lord. If we are eating here, we are dining with vraja-vasis, not māyāvādis. We are praying to serve vraja-vasis, and they want to give us prasād. What more could we want?”

Guru Mahārāj’s reply, his vision, and his plane of thought took me to another dimension of what it means to be a vaiṣṇava. I got a very sweet feeling that I am under the shelter of such a realized sādhu. A fanatic with an improper understanding of the scriptures would have disapproved of that act. I was actually a fanatic. My approach lacked the understanding and mood that Gurudeva and vaiṣṇavas have. Yet, the very thought that I am under supreme guidance placed me in great bliss.

When the other devotees asked why Śrīla Gurudev was not eating, he clarified his position with a chuckle. “I have some stomach problem, that is why I'm not eating, but they are vraja-vasis.” I realized then that I had been observing and attempting to imitate the external behavior of Gurudev falsely. I went there immediately and sat in the line along with other devotees to accept prasād.

—Śrī Bhakti Suhrid Paramadvati Mahārāj