Like Lord Rāmachandra, He Never Broke Any Moral Code of Conduct
All of us know today is Śrī Rāmanavami and we have assembled here to get the mercy of Śrīla Gurudev. The ideals that Lord Rāmachandra exhibited are the same ideals that Gurudev exhibited throughout his life.
In 1987 during Govardhan parikramā through Vrāja-mandala parikramā there was no sufficient water supply and no proper toilet facility. Everyone went for parikramā and everyone returned in the evening, but Śrīla Bhakti Pramod Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj did not return. He was not able to walk all the distance and he stopped along the way.
The next day, Giridhari Panda told us that we will go for Manasi Ganga parikramā but Gurudev said, Until Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj returns, we will not go on parikramā.” Then some devotees went to fetch Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj and he took some time to walk all the way back. Some devotees thought now we can go, but Gurudev said, “Now he may be tired, let him take a rest, only then we will go. He is a realized soul and he knows the pastimes of the Supreme Lord. Until the time he can go, we will not go.”
There was another incident in Bathinda when Gurudev was coming with saṅkīrtana and offered a very high seat. He called us and said, “Do you know my Guru-varga Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj is here with me and you have offered me a high seat?” He then held the hand of Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj and made him sit on that high āsana while he sat below. Like Lord Rāmachandra, he never broke any moral code of conduct.
Hanuman said, “Oh Ravan, do you know whom you have abducted?” And Ravana says,” Oh monkey, you will become my guru?” When Vibhishana says, as per rule a messenger of the enemy should not be killed, Ravana says then we shall burn his tail and see who will protect him. Then Hanuman smiled and said, you have put my tail on fire and now it will burn you and not me.
Another instance is when Supreme Lord Śrī Rāmachandra is in the forest and Sita said she was thirsty. Then Śrī Rāmachandra asked some passers-by, where will I get some water? And they told Him to follow them to their village nearby. They pulled water from the well and drank water there. The village womenfolk enquired from Sita Devi to introduce them and she said, “The fair one is my brother-in-law Lakshman.” She did not mention Śrī Rāmachandra's name, rather indirectly indicating to them that He is my husband. That is maryādā, the ideal conduct exhibited by Sita Devi.
Then the message spread in the village that Śrī Rāma, Lakshman, and Sita Devi have come to our village. But did not stay there, they came to the hermitage of Vālmīki Ṛṣi. Vālmīki Ṛṣi knew that He is the Supreme Lord and went forward to receive Him and worshiped Lord Rāmachandra. Then Lord Rāmachandra hesitated and said that we are forced to stay in the forest. Vālmīki asked, “First tell me the place where You are not present.” Then Śrī Rāmachandra hesitated even more. Oh Lord, in whose heart You appear only he is able to understand You. Māyāvādīs have interpreted wrongly that a person can become God but that is not true. Only one whom Gurudev blesses becomes a servant of the Lord.
How much mercy has Gurudev given to us? By Gurudev's mercy, a crow can become a swan. Garuḍa had enquired from a sage, “What is happiness and sorrow?” The sage replied, “Poverty is the greatest grief and the greatest happiness is the association of devotees. Poverty is not having the Supreme Lord and the greatest happiness is the association of devotees and the presence of saints.”
Garuda then felt satisfied that my life is successful, all my ignorance is removed, and I am able to chant the name of Rāma continuously. Then Sage Kākabhuśuṇḍi said to Garuḍa,” I am just a crow and am not eligible to speak kathā which requires the mercy of Śrī Rāmachandra; only with His mercy, I am able to do this. Twenty-seven epochs have passed since I have been doing kathā of Śrī Rāmachandra. So many birds have come to hear from me, but you are the first one to whom I have given everything. There had never been a listener like you before. You have been given the association of saints.”
Once we were going to the village of Pandeji from Allahabad and Gurudev knew that Ayodhya would come on the way. We had never been there before. We were going in the bus and Gurudev was resting near the window and I was sitting in front of him. Gurudev suddenly got up and said, “Stop the bus. This is Ayodhya, stop here”. We did not know. Gurudev got down and removed his footwear. It was hard to step down and someone brought an umbrella but Gurudev did not accept it.
He immediately started singing “Rāma Lakshman Janaki, Jai bolo Hanuman ki…” and he started dancing. He said to the devotees of Delhi, “Let us go to Sarayu River and take bath.” Many present there did that and then also many brahmins came and started doing so much worship. Gurudev distributed praṇami among them.
Gurudev carefully enquired from everyone, “Have you taken a bath in Sarayu? This is our dhāma.” One devotee came and requested Gurudev to please come to Bathinda and take rest. “I can provide accommodation for you and all the devotees,” he offered. Everyone went there. It was during the winter season and they arranged so many programs for Gurudev. Every day Gurudev went to various houses and offered up to eight programs in a day. After ten days, those who invited him feared that they had committed an offense and said, “We had brought you here for taking rest, but you have not rested at all.” But Gurudev said, “You have done a good thing. My Gurudev saw that if I take rest my mind will go to the material world. Therefore he engaged me so that my mind will not go anywhere else.”
spoken in Hindi, English translation by Śrī Naveen Kṛṣṇa Das
In 1987 during Govardhan parikramā through Vrāja-mandala parikramā there was no sufficient water supply and no proper toilet facility. Everyone went for parikramā and everyone returned in the evening, but Śrīla Bhakti Pramod Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj did not return. He was not able to walk all the distance and he stopped along the way.
The next day, Giridhari Panda told us that we will go for Manasi Ganga parikramā but Gurudev said, Until Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj returns, we will not go on parikramā.” Then some devotees went to fetch Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj and he took some time to walk all the way back. Some devotees thought now we can go, but Gurudev said, “Now he may be tired, let him take a rest, only then we will go. He is a realized soul and he knows the pastimes of the Supreme Lord. Until the time he can go, we will not go.”
There was another incident in Bathinda when Gurudev was coming with saṅkīrtana and offered a very high seat. He called us and said, “Do you know my Guru-varga Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj is here with me and you have offered me a high seat?” He then held the hand of Śrīla Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj and made him sit on that high āsana while he sat below. Like Lord Rāmachandra, he never broke any moral code of conduct.
Hanuman said, “Oh Ravan, do you know whom you have abducted?” And Ravana says,” Oh monkey, you will become my guru?” When Vibhishana says, as per rule a messenger of the enemy should not be killed, Ravana says then we shall burn his tail and see who will protect him. Then Hanuman smiled and said, you have put my tail on fire and now it will burn you and not me.
Another instance is when Supreme Lord Śrī Rāmachandra is in the forest and Sita said she was thirsty. Then Śrī Rāmachandra asked some passers-by, where will I get some water? And they told Him to follow them to their village nearby. They pulled water from the well and drank water there. The village womenfolk enquired from Sita Devi to introduce them and she said, “The fair one is my brother-in-law Lakshman.” She did not mention Śrī Rāmachandra's name, rather indirectly indicating to them that He is my husband. That is maryādā, the ideal conduct exhibited by Sita Devi.
Then the message spread in the village that Śrī Rāma, Lakshman, and Sita Devi have come to our village. But did not stay there, they came to the hermitage of Vālmīki Ṛṣi. Vālmīki Ṛṣi knew that He is the Supreme Lord and went forward to receive Him and worshiped Lord Rāmachandra. Then Lord Rāmachandra hesitated and said that we are forced to stay in the forest. Vālmīki asked, “First tell me the place where You are not present.” Then Śrī Rāmachandra hesitated even more. Oh Lord, in whose heart You appear only he is able to understand You. Māyāvādīs have interpreted wrongly that a person can become God but that is not true. Only one whom Gurudev blesses becomes a servant of the Lord.
How much mercy has Gurudev given to us? By Gurudev's mercy, a crow can become a swan. Garuḍa had enquired from a sage, “What is happiness and sorrow?” The sage replied, “Poverty is the greatest grief and the greatest happiness is the association of devotees. Poverty is not having the Supreme Lord and the greatest happiness is the association of devotees and the presence of saints.”
Garuda then felt satisfied that my life is successful, all my ignorance is removed, and I am able to chant the name of Rāma continuously. Then Sage Kākabhuśuṇḍi said to Garuḍa,” I am just a crow and am not eligible to speak kathā which requires the mercy of Śrī Rāmachandra; only with His mercy, I am able to do this. Twenty-seven epochs have passed since I have been doing kathā of Śrī Rāmachandra. So many birds have come to hear from me, but you are the first one to whom I have given everything. There had never been a listener like you before. You have been given the association of saints.”
Once we were going to the village of Pandeji from Allahabad and Gurudev knew that Ayodhya would come on the way. We had never been there before. We were going in the bus and Gurudev was resting near the window and I was sitting in front of him. Gurudev suddenly got up and said, “Stop the bus. This is Ayodhya, stop here”. We did not know. Gurudev got down and removed his footwear. It was hard to step down and someone brought an umbrella but Gurudev did not accept it.
He immediately started singing “Rāma Lakshman Janaki, Jai bolo Hanuman ki…” and he started dancing. He said to the devotees of Delhi, “Let us go to Sarayu River and take bath.” Many present there did that and then also many brahmins came and started doing so much worship. Gurudev distributed praṇami among them.
Gurudev carefully enquired from everyone, “Have you taken a bath in Sarayu? This is our dhāma.” One devotee came and requested Gurudev to please come to Bathinda and take rest. “I can provide accommodation for you and all the devotees,” he offered. Everyone went there. It was during the winter season and they arranged so many programs for Gurudev. Every day Gurudev went to various houses and offered up to eight programs in a day. After ten days, those who invited him feared that they had committed an offense and said, “We had brought you here for taking rest, but you have not rested at all.” But Gurudev said, “You have done a good thing. My Gurudev saw that if I take rest my mind will go to the material world. Therefore he engaged me so that my mind will not go anywhere else.”
Once in Jammu, Gurudev was speaking about Vṛtrāsura and he was speaking in a loud voice. The brahmins there asked me, ‘Where in Bhāgavatam does it say that Vṛtrāsura is asking the Lord for the friendship of the devotees? Where did your Gurudev get this idea?” When I explained it to them, they came to Gurudev and said, “We have heard Bhāgavatam so many times, but have never heard this. You have opened our eyes.”
—Śrī Bhakti Vilas Tridaṇḍī Mahārāj
Source is here (@ 36.00.00)
spoken in Hindi, English translation by Śrī Naveen Kṛṣṇa Das
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