His Tapasya in a Deserted, Snake-filled Forest

Suvarna Vihar in Navadvip is a remote, uninhabited place with no villages nearby. If anyone needs to collect alms, they need to go far. Param Gurudeva instructed Gurudeva to stay there when he was a brahmacārī. He was all alone. That place was full of snakes, so no other brahmacārī was willing to stay there. This showed his titikṣava (tolerance).

I have personally heard our Śrīla Gurudeva narrate these incidents. At this time our Param Guru Mahārāja was in Śrī Caitanya Maṭh. Suvarna Vihar was, at that time, an almost deserted forest. Gurujī would walk several miles to fetch some rice as alms. In his absence, thieves would come and steal vessels, etc.

There was also no availability of firewood for cooking. Gurujī would burn dry banana leaves and somehow prepare kitchari for offering. It is not an easy job to burn banana leaves and Gurujī did not have any prior experience. Whenever he would blow air to burn the fire, all the ash would fly on to his face.

When he would sit to worship the deities, snakes would be coming in and roaming around the place. Like this, Gurujī stayed in that place with great, uncommon patience and tolerance. Later Param Gurudeva came and took him back with him.

—Śrī Kṛṣṇananda Dasadhikari 

Translated from Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Sandesh July-Oct, 1997 (Year 17, Issue No.4, Page 27-39)






This image appears in the hall of Srila Gurudeva's Janmasthan temple at Goalpara Dham

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