May 7 – Appearance of Srila Madhvendra Puri
“Sri Madhavendra Puri, a great devotee and acarya in the line of devotees, says, ‘O Lord, in my prayers three times a day, all glory to You. O Bathing, I offer my obeisances unto You. O demigods, O forefathers, please excuse me for my inability to offer you my respects. Now wherever I sit I am able to remember the great descendant of the Yadu dynasty, Krsna, the enemy of Kamsa, and therefore I can get myself free from all sinful bondage. I think this is sufficient for me.’ ”
Prabhupada: This is a prayer by Madhavendra Puri. He says that “I am not going to do anything except serving Krsna.”
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.46–62 – December 16, 1968, Los Angeles
The whole thing is that Sridhara Svami is giving stress very strongly that you can simply chant Hare Krsna mantra without undergoing any ritualistic ceremonies. Actually it is very difficult to understand. Madhavendra Puri, our predecessor acarya, he also has composed a nice verse. He says, “My dear gayatri-mantra, I offer you my respect, but no more I can chant gayatri-mantra.” In this way… Taking bath early in the morning, that’s a good recommendation for spiritual advancement. But Madhavendra Puri said, “Now I am unable to execute this order. Please excuse me.” In this way he has described in many ways. At last, he concludes that “I shall sit down somewhere underneath a tree and simply remember Govinda’s name. That is sufficient. Yes.” He says, “Please excuse me, please excuse me, please excuse me.”But this Madhavendra’s statement is not for the neophyte devotees. We should not imitate Madhavendra Puri. So the position of Madhavendra Puri, the position of Haridasa Thakura, they are different from our position. We should not imitate, that “Because Madhavendra Puri gave up everything and simply concentrated his mind in chanting maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, or Haridasa Thakura, therefore I shall also do that. I shall not rise early in the morning. I shall not take bath. I shall not worship the Deity. That is not possible. That is not possible.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.25–26 – February 18, 1971, Gorakhpur
Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was going from this Vṛndāvana. Perhaps you do not know the story of Mādhavendra Purī. Mādhavendra Purī was a great devotee in this Gauḍīya-sampradāya, and in this Govardhana there was Gopāla covered by dirty and jungles and trees. So When Mādhavendra Purī was in Vṛndāvana, the Gopāla in dream expressed Himself, “Mādhavendra Purī, I am very much suffocated. I am covered by this dirt and jungles. Please re-excavate Me from this condition and install Me in the temple.” So Mādhavendra Purī, with the help of villagers, he excavated the earth and found this Gopāla mūrti. And this Gopāla mūrti was installed by the help of the villagers very luxuriantly. For so many days there was festival. So after some days, Mādhavendra Purī was informed in dream that “Since I was long within the earth, My body is very much heated. So you kindly bring some sandalwood from Jagannātha Purī and smear all over the body the pulp of sandalwood, then I shall be happy.” So Mādhavendra Purī was very old man at that time, and it is order of Gopālajī, so he started for Jagannātha Purī. On the way there is a Gopīnātha temple in Orissa, on the border of Orissa and Bengal. So he stayed there overnight and he saw that the Gopīnāthajī was offered kṣīra, seven pots of kṣīra. So Mādhavendra Purī thought within himself, “If I could taste little kṣīra, then I would also make such kṣīra to offer my Gopāla in Vṛndāvana.” Then again he thought that “Oh, I am so stupid that before offering to the Deity I am thinking of eating it.” He thought himself to be very much culprit, and he immediately left the temple, I am committing offense.“ So Mādhavendra Purī thought it that he was a great offender; he should not live in this temple, he should go outside. So he went outside, and underneath a tree he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, just to pass over the night, then proceed toward Jagannātha Purī. So at night the Deity, Gopīnātha, was asking the pūjārī, the priest, that “I have kept one pot of kṣīra behind My back garment. “So you take this pot of kṣīra, condensed milk, to Mādhavendra Purī—he is sitting underneath a tree—and offer him.” So the pujari wake up, and actually when he opened the door of the Deity room, he found that pot of ksira. So he could understand that “This Madhavendra Puri is not an ordinary devotee, he is a great devotee; otherwise how the Lord has stolen this pot for him?” [laughter] Since then, that Gopinatha is famous as Ksira-cora Gopinatha: Ksira-cora Gopinatha, the Gopinatha who stole the ksira for His devotee. So He is known as thief, Ksira-cora. He is famous as a great thief. Still people go to see Him, how nice this thief is. That is the difference between Krsna and ourself. When we are thief, we are beaten by shoes. And when Krsna is thief, He is worshiped by devotees.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.14.14 – November 16, 1971, Delhi
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85330
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