In that village a Vaidik Brahman named Kurma, very reverently invited the Master, brought Him home, washed His feet, and with his whole family drank the washing of His feet; then he lovingly fed the Master with many kinds of dishes, and they all partook of the leavings. He praised the Master thus: "Thy lotus-like feet, which Brahma himself adores, have come to my house. O my boundless good fortune! To-day my birth, race, and faith have been glorified. Lord, have mercy on me and take me with Thee! I cannot bear the sorrows of this worldly life." But the Master replied, "Say not so! Stay at home and recite Krishna"s name ceaselessly. Teach Krishna"s lore to whomsoever you meet with. At my bidding be thou an apostle and save this land! The world will never entangle you, but you will see me here again."
Every one at whose house He dined, made this request, and received this charge from the Master. Everywhere in His pilgrimage, till the return to Puri, it was exactly what He did at the Tortoise temple.
The night spent there, next morning, the Master bathed and resumed His journey; the Brahman Kurma followed Him long, but at last the Master persuaded him to return home. A high-minded Brahman named Vasudev, was covered with leprosy, but as the maggots dropped from his rotting limbs he used to pick them up and restore them to their places. [3] At night he heard of Chaitanya"s arrival, and next morning went to Kurma"s house to see Him; on hearing that the Master was gone, he fell down in a faint, and lamented in many ways. Just then the Master returned, embraced him, and lo! his leprosy as well as grief was gone at the touch and his body became sound and beautiful! He marvelled at the Master"s grace and clasped His feet and praised Him by repeating the verse in the _Bhagabat_ X. lx.x.xi. 14, (Rukmini"s message sent to Krishna by the mouth of a Brahman).
Long did he thank the Master, saying, "Listen, Gracious One! No man has your virtue. Even wretches fled from me at the stench of my body. But thou, Supreme Lord, hast touched me! Better for me my former state of misery, because henceforth my heart will swell with pride." The Master soothed him saying, "No, you will not be puffed up. Ever take Krishna"s name and save men by teaching them about Krishna. Soon will Krishna accept you".
So saying the Master vanished. The two Brahmans wept with joy at His grace, clasping each other by the neck. [Text, canto 7.]
[1] _Vidya-nagar_. Evidently _Rajmahendri_, now on the left bank of the G.o.davari. It was an important strategic point, being on the natural frontier between Kalinga and the kingdoms of the Madras coast. In 1459 a minister of the Gaj.a.pati king was ruling in this town; in 1470 it was captured by the Muhammadan Sultan of the Bahmani dynasty. Soon after 1480 it was taken by the king of Orissa; about 1515 it was captured by Krishna Dev, the king of Vijayanagar, but restored. In 1543 we find it ruled by Vidyadri, a Prince of the Gaj.a.pati line, who lost it finally to the Muhammadans in 1571. (_G.o.davari Gazetteer_, 244-245.)
[2] _Sri Kurmam_, 8 m.e. of Chicacole and the greatest place of pilgrimage to the Telegus. (_Ganjam Manual_ 62).
[3] In Christian hagiology the same story is told about a saint of Europe, who addressed the maggots, "Eat, brothers, eat!"
CHAPTER VI
The Meeting with Ramananda Ray
Thus did the Master wend His way. On reaching the temple of the Nrisingha (Man-lion) Incarnation at Jiyad,[1] He made His bow and rapturously sang and danced long in honour of the G.o.d, saying, "Glory to Nrisingha! Glory to Nrisingha! Prahlad"s Lord! Glory to you, O Lotus-lipped, O Bee on the Lotus!" [The _Bhagabat_, VII. ix. I. verse quoted in Shridhar Goswami"s commentary].
Many such verses did the Master recite as He prayed to the G.o.d. The serving priest presented Him with the G.o.d"s garland. As before, a Brahman invited and fed the Master, who pa.s.sed the night there. Next morning He took up His journey again, His emotion of faith making Him heedless of outer things day and night. As before, He made the people turn Vaishnav, and after a long time reached the bank of the G.o.davari, which reminded Him of the Jamuna, while the wood on the bank suggested Brindaban. After dancing in the wood, He crossed the river and bathed there. Sitting at the water"s edge away from the _ghat_, the Master chanted Krishna"s name. Just then arrived Ramananda Ray in a litter, attended by Jiyad musicians and many Vaidik Brahmans, to bathe. He bathed and performed the rites duly. The Master at first sight knew him for Ramananda Ray, and longed to meet him, but sat checking His eagerness. Ramananda Ray came up to Him on seeing a _sannyasi_, and wondered as he gazed on His person beaming like a hundred suns, His robe of the hue of the morning sun, His large vigorous frame, His eyes like the lotus. As he prostrated himself before the Master, the latter stood up and said, "Rise, and chant Krishna"s name", and though thirsting with desire to embrace him, He asked, "Art thou Ramananda Ray?" The man answered, "Yes, I am that slave, a vile Shudra." Pa.s.sionately did the Master embrace him, and both tumbled down on the ground in excess of devo tion, senseless with love, inert or perspiring, weeping, trembling, with hair standing on end, pale of hue, and lisping "Krishna! Krishna!"
The Vaidik Brahmans marvelled as they beheld it, and inly thought, "This _sannyasi_, we see, is powerful like Brahma. Why does he weep after embracing a Shudra? This n.o.ble is a grave and learned man; why then has he been maddened by the touch of the _sannyasi_?" The Master checked Himself on seeing strangers. The two composed themselves and sat down there. Smilingly the Master began, "Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya has spoken to me of your merits, and pressed me to see you. For that purpose have I come here. It is well that I have met you so easily." The Ray replied, "Sarvabhauma knows me for his servant, and is ever on the watch to do me good even indirectly. Through his grace have I met you, and to-day my life has become a success. That you have graciously touched this untouchable Shudra is the proof of your mercy and that of Sarvabhauma.
Thou art the G.o.d Narayan himself, and I a royal servant, a worldling, a wretch! In touching me thou didst not feel repulsion or fear of the Vedas! The Vedas forbid you even to look at me. Thy mercy leads thee to perform a forbidden act. Thou art G.o.d indeed; who can know thy ways? For delivering me hast thou come here, O Fountain of Mercy! O Saviour of the Fallen! Such is the habit of the great, to sate a wretch he goes out of his way to pay him a visit! _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. viii. 2, Nanda"s words to Garga:
_"Master, that saints travel from their own hermitages is only for doing [spiritual] good to those householders who cannot leave their houses; there is no other purpose in it."_
"The thousand men, Brahmans and others, in my train, have had their hearts melted by Thy sight. All of them are shouting _Krishna! Hari!_ All are tremulous, all are weeping in joy. Verily you have every characteristic, internal and external, of G.o.d. No mortal can possess such supernatural power!"
The Master replied, "You are the greatest of devotees. It is your sight that has softened the hearts of all. Why impute it to another? I am only a _sannyasi_ holding the theory of illusion (_maya-vad_), but even I have been steeped in the love of Krishna by your touch. Knowing that my heart is hard to reform, Sarvabhauma had asked me to meet you."
Thus did the two praise each other, each delighted to see the other.
Then a Vaishnav Vaidik Brahman bowed and invited the Master, who accepted the invitation knowing him to be a Vaishnav. Smiling, the Master said to Ramananda, "I wish to hear the discourse of Krishna from your lips. I hope I shall see you again." The Ray replied, "You have come here to save this sinner. But my wicked heart has not been cleansed by the mere sight of you. Stay for 5 or 7 days to purge my hard heart of its sins." Ramananda Ray bowed and went away, though loth to part, while the Master went to the Brahman"s house to dine. Eagerly did the two look for their meeting in the evening. As the Master was sitting after his sunset bath, the Ray arrived with a servant. He bowed to the Master, who embraced him. The two conversed in a retired spot. The Master bade him recite the verses indicating the means of gaming devotion (_sadhya_).
The Ray replied, "We acquire faith in Vishnu by doing the duties of our rank. As the _Vishnu Puran_, III. viii. 8, says, "_Worship the Supreme Being Vishnu by doing the prescribed duties of your caste. There is no other means of pleasing Him._"" The Master objected, "This is only an external means. Mention one more advanced." The Ray replied, "The highest means of acquiring devotion is to resign to Krishna the fruits of our acts, as the _Gita_, IX. 27, puts it:
_"O Son of Kunti, consign to me whatever you do, be it eating, performing the horn ceremony, alms-giving, or austerity._""
The Master again objected, "This too is external. Go deeper into the subject." The Ray answered, "The highest means of devotion is abandoning one"s caste-duties [out of love for Krishna], as the Lord says to Uddhav in the _Bhagabat_, XI. xi. 32:
_"He too is the highest of holy men, who knowing well the gain and loss of such a course, worships me by renouncing the Vedic rites and ceremonies of his caste, though these too were ordained by me."_
"Also, as the _Gita_, xvvi. 66, has it:
_"Take refuge in ME alone, giving up all religions. Grieve not; I will deliver thee from all sins."_
But to this the Master objected, "This too is external. Tell me of a still higher means." The Ray answered, "Faith based on knowledge is the highest means of devotion. As Shri Krishna says to Arjun in the _Gita_, xviii. 54:
_"The peaceful soul that dwells on Brahma, and feels not sorrow or desire, but is the same in all states, gains my supreme bhakti.""_
Again the Master objected as before. The Ray answered, "Faith independent of knowledge is the highest instrument of devotion. Witness Brahma"s words to G.o.d in the _Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 3:
_"Lord, hard as Thou art to be won in the Universe, yet they realize Thee who reject the quest of theological knowledge but stay at home, listening to Thy story as told by holy men and accepting it with all their mind, body and soul.""_
The Master remarked, "It is so; but mention a higher still." The Ray said, "The highest devotion is _love)_ (_prem-bhakti_). Witness the following verses of Ramananda Ray quoted in the _Padyavali_, cantos xi and xii respectively:
_"We relish food and drink only so long as we have hunger and thirst.
Similarly, the devotee delights not in worshipping his heart"s darling with elaborate Preparations, but in love alone."_
_"Get a heart inspired with love of Krishna, if ever you can get it. Its only price is greed,--a price which we cannot acquire even by the acc.u.mulated merits of ten millions of births.""_
The Master remarked as before. The Ray replied, "The love of a servant is the highest devotion. Witness the speech of Durvasha in the _Bhagabat_, IX. v. 11:--
_"What is too hard for the Lord"s servants to gain, as the very listening to His name purifies all creatures?""_
The Master remarked, "It is so, but give a still deeper cause." The Ray replied, "Love as for a comrade is the highest form of devotion. Witness Shukdev"s words to Pariks.h.i.t, in the _Bhagabat_, X. xii. 10:
_"G.o.d is known to the good as the consciousness of divine pleasure (brahma-sukhanubhuti), and to His servants as the Supreme Object of Adoration. That such a G.o.d played with the deluded cow-boys in the garb of a human child, was due to their excessive merit.""_
The Master said, "This too is good. Mention a higher one still." The Ray went on, "The highest devotion is love as for a _child_. Witness the following verses of the _Bhagabat_:
_"Shukdev! what high-cla.s.s meritorious deeds did Nanda perform, and what did the blessed Yashoda do that she suckled the Divine Being?"_ (X.
viii. 36).
_"The bliss that the cowherd"s wife Yashoda derived from her Saviour-son was never gained by Brahma, or Shiva, or even by Lakshmi though clasped to His person."_ (X. ix. 15.)
The Master said, "This is good, no doubt. But mention a higher still."
The Ray replied, "Pa.s.sion as for a lover is the highest form of devotion. Witness the following verses of the _Bhagabat_:
_"Verily the favour shown by the Supreme Being to the fair ones of Brindaban, when in the rasa sport He clasped them round the neck with His arms, was not enjoyed even by Lakshmi, who is held to His heart, nor by the heavenly nymphs though blooming and odorous like the lotus; not to speak of other women."_ (X. xlvii. 53)
The Ray continued, "Many are the means of attaining to Krishna, and there are degrees of such attainment. By whichever of these means a man is inspired, it appears as the highest to him. It is only when we judge from a position of detachment that we can discriminate them as good, better, and best.
"The preceding five pa.s.sions are arranged in the order of their upward development. With the increase of quality there is an increase of deliciousness at each step. The _shanta_ pa.s.sion attains its maturity in the _dasya_, the _dasya_ in the _sakhya_, the _sakhya_ in the _batsalya_, and all of these four are concentrated in the _madhura_, just as the properties of the four elements, _viz._, sky, air, &c.
increase in an advancing order and are all united in the fifth element, the Earth. The full attainment of Krishna results from this last pa.s.sion of conjugal love (_prema_). The _Bhagabat_ a.s.serts that Krishna is a slave to devotion in the form of _prema_.
"Krishna"s purpose remains constant in all ages: He makes a return to our adoration in exactly the same form in which we offer it. But He cannot reciprocate this _prem_ adoration to the full, and so remains our debtor, as the _Bhagabat_ affirms. (X. x.x.xii. 21, Krishna"s words to the milk-maids).
"True, Krishna is the highest type of beauty and grace, but even His charm increases when He is in the company of the Lady of Braja. Witness the _Bhagabat_, X. x.x.xiii. 6:
_"As the beauty of the emerald is set off when it is placed amidst golden-coloured gems, so shines Krishna when girt round by the beaming girls of Brindaban.""_
The Master remarked, "This is indeed the extreme point among the means of devotion. Kindly tell me if there is anything beyond it!" The Ray said, "I did not know before that the earth contained any man who would inquire beyond this point! Of all kinds of conjugal pa.s.sion Radha"s love is celebrated in all our Scriptures as the highest".
The Master said, "Speak on! I delight to hear. A wondrous stream of nectar is flowing out of your lips. Show how Krishna abducted Radha for fear of interruption by the other cow-herd girls; because a love that extends to others than the beloved is not deep enough. If you can show that for Radha"s sake Krishna openly forsook the other Gopis, then I shall know that he pa.s.sionately loved her." The Ray replied, "Hear, then, of this glorious power of love. The three worlds cannot match Radha"s love. Krishna broke away from the circle of the _rasa_ dance of the Gopis and wandered through the woods mourning for Radha. Witness the _Git-Govinda_, canto III. verses 2 and i, and the _Ujjwala-Nilmani_, verse 43.