Bhakti Wisdom

Let me tell you a true story about one sadhu I met during my travels in the holy places.

He is not one of those sadhus who are doing extreme tapasya, fasting, chanting lots of mantras, or giving classes.

This sadhu is different and many of us who met him for the first time could not notice how advanced he really is. 

Because of his genuine simplicity, externally he appears as any other devotee who does service for Krishna. 

For those few who, by the mercy of senior devotees could get to know him better would immediately become attracted by him.

In the ashram where he stays, he does simple services like serving devotees and cleaning the temple. All his spare time he utilizes for his personal sadhana. He would never waste time or talk about something not related to Krishna and his devotees and whenever another sadhu would visit the temple he would make sure he does some service for him. 

All real sadhus have their own unique sadhana that they practice with the hope to please Krishna.

This sadhu is constantly meditating on the lotus feet of Krishna.

Because of his attachment to Krishna’s lotus feet, I like to call him Krishna Caran baba.

Every so often he would visit the local temple and secretly walk on the altar when nobody is around and place tulsi leaf on the feet of Lord Krishna. 

It happened many times that guests who have been taking darshan reported to the temple management about this sadhu.

Being respectful to the saintly devotee, management would only warn him that if he does this again they would not allow him to enter the temple. 

Few weeks after that sadhu will do the same thing, when none of the priests are around he would walk on the altar, take his box with Tulasi leaves, dip them into candan and offer to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.

For the local priests and brahmins, this is unacceptable because anyone coming on the altar needs to take shower, chant appropriate mantras, and be initiated in the bonafide Vaisnava sampradaya. This sadhu didn’t follow all of the rules and regulations but everyone knew that he had devotion. Still, because the temple needs to maintain certain rules and regulations management and the head priest would, again and again, speak to the sadhu and explain to him that this can’t be done in the temple, home worship is different than temple worship. 

They also explained to him that all the necessary puja is done by the temple priests so Krishna doesn’t require extra Tulasi on his feet.

Every time they spoke to the sadhu he always agreed what they told him but a few days or weeks later devotees will see him again doing the same thing, carefully avoiding the priests and local management, he would walk on the altar and place the Tulasi leaf dipped in the candan on the lotus feet of the Lord.

Curious to understand the mind of this sadhu I asked him why he is doing this if the local priests are not happy.

With a sweet look on his face and in a very humble mood, he replied:” I just want to make Krishna happy”.

This sadhu was so different from any other devotee I meet. He didn’t follow all rules and regulations prescribed by the sastras but he had so much devotion.

Of course, none of us should imitate this sadhu by not following the rules and regulations but we should take the essence of what he is practicing.

Srila Prabhupada engaged us in devotional service and expected us to follow all the rules and regulations prescribed by the scriptures. In this way, one is practicing pure devotional service.

Although we are impure this process is pure and as long we are practicing pure process we are performing pure devotional service.

Pure devotional service means nothing for me but everything for Krishna. Sincere sadhaka is always looking for the opportunity to please Krishna.

That is the essence I took from my association with Krishna Caran baba.

Ananta Gopal das

19 January 2021