Hare Krishna Prabhus and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Today is the sacred disappearance day of Srila Madhavendra Puri, a most exalted Vaishnava acharya, whom our sampradaya reveres as the very root of divine love for Krishna. His life was a testament to unwavering devotion, selfless service, and the highest standards of bhakti. On this auspicious day, I feel very inspired to share one of his glorious pastimes.
Srila Madhavendra Puri was the grand spiritual master of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. His disciple, Ishvara Puri, was the one who later initiated Lord Chaitanya. When Mahaprabhu visited the Gopinath temple in Remuna, He was captivated by the beauty of the deity and shared the a beautiful pastime that earned Gopinath the name Kshirachora Gopinath—the Lord who lovingly stole sweet rice for His devotee. So then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu narrated this pastime to everyone. Madhavendra Puri’s standard of devotional service is truly the standard of a maha-bhagavata—a pure devotee completely absorbed in love for Krishna.
Once, while residing in Vrindavana, Madhavendra Puri was absorbed in chanting and fasting, deeply meditating on Krishna. A beautiful young boy approached him with a pot of milk, saying, “No one in this land of Vrindavana goes hungry. Please drink this milk.” When asked how he knew about his fasting, the boy simply replied that some villagers had mentioned it.
That night in the dream, he saw a beautiful boy and he realized that it was the same boy who brought milk and the boy said, “My dear Madhavendra Puri! I am the deity known as Gopala and I am the deity of Vrindavana. I am now hidden just around the corner. I was hidden because at that time, the Moghul invasion was there, and the devotees were very afraid that they would break My deity. So they hid Me in the bushes. So many years have passed. I am feeling very hot inside the bushes. Can you do Me a favor? Take Me out, gather everyone, do very nice Annakut for Me, install Me and worship Me.”
At the time of this pastime Madhavendra Puri was more than 100 years old. He was very elderly. When he had this dream and he woke up, he became so excited with emotional ecstasy that he lamented that he could not recognize Krishna when He came as a boy before him. He immediately gathered the villagers, unearthed the deity, and personally assisted in carrying and installing Gopala deity on top of the Govardhan Hill. Then he arranged a grand Annakut festival where thousands of pounds of food were offered to the Lord for seven days, reflected his unparalleled standard of devotion. Seeing this, Lord Gopala was overjoyed, but His love for Madhavendra Puri was not yet satisfied.
Then, one night, Lord Gopala appeared again in Madhavendra Puri’s dream and made another request: “I am still feeling hot. Please go to the Malayadvaja area and bring sandalwood for Me.” This was no small task, because that area was near Jagannath Puri, which was thousands of miles away. But for a pure devotee, no service is ever too difficult when it is for the pleasure of the Lord. Without hesitation, despite his old age, Madhavendra Puri set out on foot for Puri, surrendering everything to Krishna’s desire.
On his way, he stopped in Remuna and had darshan of Gopinathji. He learned of the famous amrita-keli sweet rice offering made daily, and a thought arose in his heart—if he could taste it, he would learn how to prepare it for Gopala. The moment he had this thought, he immediately chastised himself: How could I desire to taste the Lord’s offering before it was distributed? Feeling ashamed, he quietly left the temple.
That very night, the temple pujari had a dream—Gopinath Himself spoke to him: “I have stolen a pot of sweet rice for My devotee Madhavendra Puri. Find him and give it to him.” The pujari awoke in amazement, found the hidden pot, and went searching for this blessed devotee. When he found him, he exclaimed, “You are the greatest devotee in the three worlds! The Lord Himself has stolen for you!”
Hearing this, Madhavendra Puri was overwhelmed. He marveled at Krishna’s boundless mercy—how the Lord overlooks a devotee’s faults but magnifies even the smallest pure intention. With great humility, he accepted the prasadam, broke the pot, and carefully preserved its remnants, knowing they were imbued with the Lord’s love. Continuing his journey to Puri, he procured the sandalwood and started his return, but enroute, he had another dream. Gopala appeared again and said, “You have carried this burden with such devotion, but there is no need for you to bring it all the way to Vrindavana. Offer it to Gopinath here in Remuna, and I will receive it.” Such was the divine reciprocation between the Lord and His dear devotee.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu narrated this divine pastime and marveled at the unparalleled devotion of Srila Madhavendra Puri. He said, “Just see the greatness of Madhavendra Puri! Krishna Himself came to him and said, ‘Enough. Your service is so exalted, your heart so pure—now you may rest.’” In this way, Mahaprabhu lovingly honored and remembered the extraordinary devotion of Madhavendra Puri
Therefore, from this we can understand that despite his old age, Srila Madhavendra Puri never hesitated when the Lord asked him to do a menial service. He never considered himself too old, too exalted, or too experienced to carry out the service for Krishna. His example teaches us an important lesson—whenever we feel that we are too old, too important, too busy, too knowledgeable, or too accomplished for devotional service, we should remember the great humility and dedication of Srila Madhavendra Puri. True greatness of a devotee lies in serving the Lord with a pure heart, without any personal consideration!
Srila Madhavendra Puri Maharaj ki Jai!
Srila Prabhupada ki jai!