His Merciful Chastisement

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On the holy occasion of Dīpāvalī, we were to decorate Śrīla Gurudev’s room which would only be possible when he was not inside. On that day, Śrīpad Dāmodara Das and I missed yam-kirtans while we were busy decorating. When Śrīla Gurudev came back to his room, seeing us there he spoke in a commanding voice, chastising us by saying, 'For such less important work you broke the vows (rules of Dāmodara-vrata)? This is not good!"

Both of us appreciated Śrīla Gurudev’s instructions to us. In the next yam-kirtan, Śrīla Guru Mahārāj mentioned our mistake in front of all the assembled vaiṣṇavas and devotees. He said, "These people broke the rules of regulative service for one insignificant work." He added that he did not approve of this. As a result of Gurudev’s words, it was noticed that all devotees then started arriving for yam-kirtans on time. 

—Partha Sarati Das (Om Prakash Lumba)

Translated from Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Sandesh July-Oct, 1997 (Year 17, Issue No.4, Page 56-60)


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