Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then turned His attention to three persons—Mukunda dāsa, Raghunandana and Śrī Narahari— inhabitants of the place called Khaṇḍa. (112) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the son of mother Śacī, next asked Mukunda dāsa, “You are the father, and your son is Raghunandana. Is that so? (113) “Or is Śrīla Raghunandana your father and you are his son? Please let Me know the facts so that My doubts will go away.” (114) Mukunda replied, “Raghunandana is my father, and I am his son. This is my decision. (115) “All of us have attained devotion to Kṛṣṇa due to Raghunandana. Therefore in my mind he is my father.” (116)
Hearing Mukunda dāsa give this proper decision, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirmed it, saying, “Yes, it is correct. One who awakens devotion to Kṛṣṇa is certainly the spiritual master.” (117) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very happy just to speak of the glories of His devotees. Indeed, when He spoke of their glories, it was as if He had five faces. (118) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then informed all His devotees, “Please hear about Mukunda’s love of Godhead. It is a very deep and pure love and can only be compared to purified gold. (119) “Mukunda dāsa externally appears to be a royal physician engaged in governmental service, but internally he has a deep love for Kṛṣṇa. Who can understand his love? (120) “One day Mukunda dāsa, the royal physician, was seated with the Muslim King on a high platform and was telling the King about medical treatment. (121) “While the King and Mukunda dāsa were conversing, a servant brought a fan made of peacock feathers to shade the King’s head from the sun. Consequently he held the fan above the King’s head. (122)
“Just by seeing the peacock- feathered fan, Mukunda dāsa became absorbed in ecstatic love of Godhead and fell from the high platform onto the ground. (123) “The King, fearing that the royal physician had been killed, personally descended and brought him to consciousness. (124) “When the King asked Mukunda, ‘Where is it paining you?’ Mukunda replied, ‘I am not very much pained.’ (125) “The King then inquired, ‘Mukunda, why did you fall down?’ “Mukunda replied, ‘My dear King, I have a disease like epilepsy.’ (126) “Being extraordinarily intelligent, the King could understand the whole affair. In his estimation, Mukunda was a most uncommon, exalted, liberated personality. (127) “Raghunandana is constantly engaged in serving Lord Kṛṣṇa in the temple. Beside the entrance of the temple is a lake, and on its banks is a kadamba tree, which daily delivers two flowers to be used for Kṛṣṇa’s service.” (128-129)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again spoke to Mukunda with sweet words: “Your duty is to earn both material and spiritual wealth. (130) “Furthermore, it is the duty of Raghunandana to always engage in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s service. He has no other intention but the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” (131) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then ordered Narahari: “I wish you to remain here with My devotees. In this way the three of you should always execute these three duties for the service of the Lord.” (132) Out of His causeless mercy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave the following directions to the brothers Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Vidyā- vācaspati. (133) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “In this Age of Kali, Kṛṣṇa is manifest in two forms—wood and water. Thus, by enabling the conditioned souls to see the wood and bathe in the water, He helps them become liberated. (134) “Lord Jagannātha is the Supreme Lord Himself in the form of wood, and the river Ganges is the Supreme Lord Himself in the form of water. (135)
“Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, you should engage in the worship of Lord Jagannātha Puruṣottama, and Vācaspati should worship mother Ganges.” (136) Srī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then embraced Murāri Gupta and began to speak about his firm faith in devotional service. This was heard by all the devotees. (137) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Previously I induced Murāri Gupta again and again to be allured by Lord Kṛṣṇa. I said to him, ‘My dear Gupta, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Vrajendra- kumāra, is the supreme sweetness. (138) “‘Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of all incarnations and the source of everything. He is pure transcendental love itself, and He is the reservoir of all pleasure. (139) “‘Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. He is like a mine of gems. He is expert at everything, very intelligent and sober, and He is the summit of all transcendental humors. (140) “‘His character is very sweet, and His pastimes are melodious. He is expert in intelligence, and thus He enjoys all His pastimes and mellows.’ (141)
“I then requested Murāri Gupta, ‘Worship Kṛṣṇa and take shelter of Him. But for His service, nothing appeals to the mind.’ (142) “In this way, he heard from Me again and again. By My influence, his mind was a little converted. (143) “Murāri Gupta then replied, ‘I am Your servant and Your order- carrier. I have no independent existence.’ (144) “After this, Murāri Gupta went home and spent the whole night thinking how he would have to give up the association of Raghunātha, Lord Rāmacandra. Thus he was overwhelmed. (145) “Murāri Gupta then began to pray at the lotus feet of Lord Rāmacandra. He prayed that death would come that night because it was not possible for him to give up the service of the lotus feet of Raghunātha. (146) “Thus Murāri Gupta cried the entire night. There was no rest for his mind; therefore he could not sleep but stayed awake the entire night. (147)
“In the morning Murāri Gupta came to see Me. Catching hold of My feet and crying, he submitted an appeal. (148) “Murāri Gupta said, ‘I have sold my head unto the lotus feet of Raghunātha. I cannot withdraw my head, for that would give me too much pain. (149) “‘It is not possible for me to give up the service of Raghunātha’s lotus feet. At the same time, if I do not do so I shall break Your order. What can I do?’ (150) “In this way Murāri Gupta appealed to Me, saying, ‘You are all- merciful, so kindly grant me this mercy: Let me die before You so that all my doubts will be finished.’ (151) “Hearing this, I became very happy. I then raised Murāri Gupta and embraced him. (152) “I said to him, ‘All glories to you, Murāri Gupta! Your method of worship is very firmly fixed—so much so that even upon My request your mind did not turn. (153) “‘The servitor must have love and affection for the lotus feet of the Lord exactly like this. Even if the Lord wants separation, a devotee cannot abandon the shelter of His lotus feet. (154)
‘Just to test your firm faith in your Lord, I requested you again and again to change your worship from Lord Rāmacandra to Kṛṣṇa.’ (155) “In this way, I congratulated Murāri Gupta, saying, ‘Indeed, you are the incarnation of Hanumān. Consequently you are the eternal servant of Lord Rāmacandra. Why should you give up the worship of Lord Rāmacandra and His lotus feet?’” (156) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “I accept this Murāri Gupta as My life and soul. When I hear of his humility, it perturbs My very life.” (157) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then embraced Vāsudeva Datta and began to speak of his glories as if He had a thousand mouths. (158) When Caitanya Mahāprabhu glorified him, Vāsudeva Datta immediately became very much embarrassed and shy. He then submitted himself, touching the Lord’s lotus feet. (159)
Vāsudeva Datta told Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “My dear Lord, You incarnate just to deliver all conditioned souls. I now have one petition, which I wish You would accept. (160) “My Lord, You are certainly able to do whatever You like, and You are indeed merciful. If You so desire, You can very easily do whatever You want. (161) “My Lord, my heart breaks to see the sufferings of all the conditioned souls; therefore I request You to transfer the karma of their sinful lives upon my head. (162) “My dear Lord, let me suffer perpetually in a hellish condition, accepting all the sinful reactions of all living entities. Please finish their diseased material life.” (163) When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard Vāsudeva Datta’s statement, His heart became very soft. Tears flowed from His eyes, and He began to tremble. In a faltering voice He spoke as follows. (164) Accepting Vāsudeva Datta as a great devotee, the Lord said, “Such a statement is not at all astonishing because you are the incarnation of Prahlāda Mahārāja. It appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa has bestowed complete mercy upon you. There is no doubt about it. (165)
“Whatever a pure devotee wants from his master, Lord Kṛṣṇa doubtlessly grants because He has no duty other than to fulfill the desire of His devotee. (166) “If you desire the deliverance of all living entities within the universe, then all of them can be delivered even without your undergoing the tribulations of sinful activity. (167) “Kṛṣṇa is not incapable, for He has all potencies. Why would He induce you to suffer the sinful reactions of other living entities? (168) “Whosever welfare you desire immediately becomes a Vaiṣṇava, and Kṛṣṇa delivers all Vaiṣṇavas from the reactions of their past sinful activities. (169) “‘Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who regulates the sufferings and enjoyments due to fruitive activity. He does this for everyone—from the heavenly King Indra down to the smallest insect [indra- gopa]. That very Personality of Godhead destroys the karmic reactions of one engaged in devotional service.’ (170) “Because of your honest desire, all living entities within the universe will be delivered, for Kṛṣṇa does not have to do anything to deliver all the living entities of the universe. (171)
“Just as there are millions of fruits on the uḍumbara tree, millions of universes float on the waters of the river Virajā. (172) “The uḍumbara tree is filled with millions of fruits, and if one falls down and is destroyed, the tree does not even consider the loss. (173) “In the same way, if one universe is vacated due to the living entities’ having been liberated, that is a very little thing for Kṛṣṇa. He does not take it very seriously. (174) “The entire spiritual world constitutes the unlimited opulence of Kṛṣṇa, and there are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets there. The Causal Ocean is considered the surrounding waters of Vaikuṇṭhaloka. (175) “Māyā and her unlimited material universes are situated in that Causal Ocean. Indeed, māyā appears to be floating like a pot filled with mustard seeds. (176)
“Of the millions of mustard seeds floating in that pot, if one seed is lost, the loss is not at all significant. Similarly, if one universe is lost, it is not significant to Lord Kṛṣṇa. (177) “To say nothing of one universal mustard seed, even if all the universes and the material energy [māyā] are destroyed, Kṛṣṇa does not even consider the loss. (178) “If a person possessing millions of wish- fulfilling cows loses one she- goat, he does not consider the loss. Kṛṣṇa owns all six opulences in full. If the entire material energy is destroyed, what does He lose?” (179)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “‘O my Lord, O unconquerable one, O master of all potencies, please exhibit Your internal potency to conquer the nescience of all moving and inert living entities. Due to nescience, they accept all kinds of faulty things, thus provoking a fearful situation. O Lord, please show Your glories! You can do this very easily, for Your internal potency is beyond the external potency, and You are the reservoir of all opulence. You are also the demonstrator of the material potency. You are also always engaged in Your pastimes in the spiritual world, where You exhibit Your reserved, internal potency, and sometimes You exhibit the external potency by glancing over it. Thus You manifest Your pastimes. The Vedas confirm Your two potencies and accept both types of pastimes due to them.’” (180)
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