Today is a special day, the disappearance Tithi of Sri Lokanath Goswami. He is a direct disciple and associate of Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

He appeared in the village of Talkhori in the Jessore district of present day Bangladesh. Prior to Talkhori his ancestors resided in Kachanapara.

When Lokanath Goswami came to meet Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa, Mahaprabhu immediately told him to go and live in Vrindavan. He also told him that He will take Sannyas shortly and will go there Himself. Mahaprabhu took Sannyas at the age of 24 years in the month of Magha (Indian calendar month). Lokanath Goswami came to see Him in Agrahayana month.

Lokanath Goswami is Lila Manjari in Krishna-lila. Upon hearing of Mahaprabhu taking Sannyas, he started to weep profusely thinking of the Lord with His beautiful curls shorn.

As Mahaprabhu instructed Lokanath Goswami to go to Vrindavan, he felt a strong separation from Him. If there is no relation, there will be no feeling of separation. Since Lokanath Goswami has a deep relationship with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he felt a deep separation from Him.

Once a person, a relative of Birla, came to visit our Gurudev in Kolkata Math. I was sitting there that time. He used to respect Srila Gurudev a lot. He told him, “Vrindavan used to be a very nice place when I visited 25 years ago. But now it is not. Earlier all the food items I ate there like milk, curd, Lassi, Rabadi (a sweet prepared from milk) used to be very nice. But this time when I went there and consumed Rabadi, I fell sick. I had blood dysentery. Blotting paper was mixed in Rabadi. I was hospitalized and somehow, I was saved. Moreover now you can’t leave anything outside. If you do so then someone may pick it up. Now Vrindavan is not Vrindavan. It has been spoiled.”

Actually Vrindavan is not a part of this world; it is not a part of Uttar Pradesh. It is not composed of five material elements. It is transcendental. It has descended. It is the residence of Nandanandana Krishna. As He is transcendental so is His realm also.

When one visits and tries to understand the Lord’s Abode (Dhama) with some material ego or with his limited intelligence then he starts comparing Dhama with worldly places like Delhi, Kolkata or Mumbai and may conclude that the worldly places are better than the Dhama. Transcendental eyes are required to have the darshan of Dhama. The glories of the Dhama get revealed to a surrendered soul only. The unsurrendered souls who think that they can understand the Supreme Lord and His Dhama with their own intelligence can never understand the real nature of the Dhama. They will be totally deprived. They will never get contact with the Dhama. They visit Dhama externally only. One cannot enter in Dhama with the material body.

We have to realize that we belong to the Supreme Lord. By realizing this when we associate with devotees and get six-fold śaraṇāgati, Supreme Lord and His Dhama are revealed to us. The Supreme Lord is equal to all.

Our Guruvargas have explained that those who visit the Dhama with a feeling of envy will have their envy reduced. Those who visit without envy and without material desires attain sukriti (devotional piety). Those who visit with material desires gain punya (material piety). And those who visit with devotion establish a relationship with the Dhama itself. The results are different — there is a clear gradation.

The name of Lokanath Goswami’s father was Padmanabha Chakravarti and his mother was Sita Devi. His brother’s name was Pragalbha Bhattacharya. How can ‘Bhattacharya’ be the son of a ‘Chakravarti’? The ‘Bhattacharya’ title is used for those who are well versed in scriptural knowledge. ‘Chakravarti’ is used for a king or for Brahmins. It can have various uses. Lokanath Goswami, Goswami means master of senses, performed devotion with intense renunciation.

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had instructed Lokanath Goswami to go to Vrindavan, upon seeing his feelings of separation, He consoled him saying, “You have no fear! Wherever there is a relation, association occurs even in separation. For example when Radharani is in separation, is She not getting an association with Krishna? The love in separation is more intense—adhirūḍha’ mahābhāva. What is the loss? There will be no loss! You go to Vrindavan now itself!”

Bhugarbha Goswami is also a Manjari in Krishna-lila, bhūgarbhotthaṁ suviśrutam—Bhugarbha Prabhu is born from the bowels of the earth. Bhugarbha Goswami was Lokanatha Goswami’s closest friend and constant companion.

On Mahaprabhu’s order Lokanath Goswami and Bhugarbha Goswami went to Vrindavan. Before them none of the associates of Mahaprabhu had ever gone to Vrindavan. As a Gaudiya Vaishnava, Subuddhi Rai had gone before them but he is not an associate of Mahaprabhu.

When Mahaprabhu appeared, His advent place was ruled by Muslims. Hussain Shah was the King at that time. Sanatan Goswami was his Prime Minister and Rupa Goswami was a special minister in his cabinet. The capital of that place was Maldah. Rupa and Sanatan Goswami lived in Ramkeli village.

Sanatan Goswami is a follower of Rupa Goswami even though he is the elder. We call Rupa-Sanatana and not Sanatana-Rupa. Advait Acharya was the elder most amongst all the associates. His age at that time was more than a hundred years. In spite of being so much older, He always considered Mahaprabhu to be his worshippable object. Nityanand Prabhu who is Baladeva Himself, is five years older to Mahaprabhu. Haridas Thakur is even older. Their pastimes in Gaura-lila are different. But they all consider Mahaprabhu as their worshippable object. Rupa Goswami in Krishna-lila is Rupa Manjari; Sanatan Goswami is Rati Manjari; Gopal Bhatta Goswami is Anang Manjari or Guna Manjari; Lokanath Goswami is Lila Manjari; Bhugarbha Goswami is Prema Manjari. Externally they appear like ordinary human beings but they are not.

Lokanath Goswami renounced gṛhastha-āśrama in 1510 AD (1431 of the shaka era) and came to meet Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa. As we heard before, Mahaprabhu immediately told him to go and live in Vrindavan, telling him that it was His own intention to take Sannyas very shortly and go there Himself. Lokanath Goswami started to cry when he imagined the Lord with His beautiful curly hair shorn and the distress the devotees would feel at His Sannyas. When the Lord saw Lokanath Goswami’s anxiety, He embraced him and consoled him with His mystical words and Lokanath Goswami surrendered completely to Him. When Bhugarbha Goswami saw how unhappy Lokanath Goswami was he decided to accompany him to Vrindavan. The two companions walked through Rajamahal, Tajapur, Purnia, Ayodhya, Lucknow and many holy places before finally arriving in Vraja Dhama. Bhugarbha Goswami was Lokanath Goswami’s paternal uncle.

Lokanath Goswami constantly felt intense separation from Mahaprabhu. When he received the news that Mahaprabhu had taken Sannyas and gone to Puri and from there to the South on pilgrimage, Lokanath Goswami hurried to Southern India on foot in order to join Him. When he arrived in the South, he heard that Mahaprabhu was no longer there, but had gone to Vrindavan. Lokanath immediately set off for Vrindavan, hoping to see the Lord there, but by the time he arrived, he heard that the Lord had gone to Prayag. Lokanath decided to set off again for Prayag on foot. This time, however, Mahaprabhu appeared to him in a dream and told him to stop moving about and remain in Vrindavan to perform his bhajana.

Not long afterwards, Rupa, Sanatan, Gopal Bhatta Goswamis and other associates of Mahaprahu started coming to live in Vraja Dham. Their association brought Lokanath immense joy.

Lokanath Goswami constantly travelled throughout Vraja ecstatically visiting the various holy places. Once, he went to Khadiravan. We go there from Nandgaon during our Parikrama. This is the place of the killing of Bakasura by Krishna. We listen to Krishna’s pastimes when we go there. Krishna had gone there with His sakhas (friends) to drink water from the lake to quench their thirst. Seeing the demon Bakasura, they all became afraid. Bakasura attacked Krishna and swallowed Him. Having seen that sight, all the sakhas became almost dead. Being in the stomach of Bakasura, Krishna hit him with His hand. Bakasura immediately spat Him out. Again he attacked Krishna. Finally in the fight, Krishna killed him. Bakasura signifies deceit.

After Khadiravan, we go to Chatravan where Kishori Kunda is there. Whilst travelling throughout Vraja, Lokanath Goswami once visited Kishori Kunda. He stayed there for some time to do his bhajan in isolation. There he developed a deep desire to worship Radha Krishna in Their deity form.

The Lord knows the desires of His devotees and feels Himself obliged to fulfill them. He came personally to give Lokanath Goswami a deity, telling him before disappearing that His name is Radha Vinod. Lokanath Goswami’s first reaction was astonishment at seeing the deity, then he became filled with anxiety at the thought that the Lord Himself had come and gone. But Radha Vinod cast His sweet glance and smilingly said to him, “I am very hungry. Quickly prepare something for Me to eat.” When Lokanath Goswami heard these words, tears of joy began to flow from his eyes. He was living under a tree with no shelter. Where will he quickly get food? He collected vegetables etc. from Vraja-vasis. He quickly started cooking for Radha Vinod and then made an offering. Lokanath Goswami then made Radha Vinod a bed of flowers upon which he placed Him and fanned Him with branches. He was immersed in an ocean of joy.

We are always worried about our body. However, Lokanath Goswami was not worried about anything. He had no house. He was not worried about rain or storms. When one experiences the bliss in serving the Lord realizing his relationship with Him, he does not feel any pangs of hunger or thirst.

(Krishna’s pastime of lifting Govardhan). You know Krishna’s pastime in Paithagram near Govardhan. There is a Kadamb tree. Indra, being angry at the Vraja-vasis as they stop his worship, sent heavy showers of rain to drown Vraja Dhama in water. That time Krishna tells the Vraja-vasis that you keep all your belongings in the bullock cart and come with Me leaving your houses. There is water all over. Everything is submerged in water. All the Vraja-vasis came to Krishna. They asked Him how they would be rescued. Krishna says, “There is no other way. I will lift Giriraja Govardhan.”

Vraja-vasis say, “But Your hands are very soft. You will get injured.”

“Then how will I protect you?”

“Then we have to test Your ability to lift Govardhan.”

“How?”

Looking at the Kadamb tree there they ask, “Can You twist it?”

Krishna twists it. They are all astonished to see that.

“Wow! You did it! Ok. You may lift Govardhan but let us dress You first (as a wrestler) as You have to lift such a heavy thing.”

Then Krishna lifts Giriraja Govardhan. They are surprised to see Him lifting Govardhan, “He can lift such a big mountain!” They all then place their sticks below the Govardhan lest some stone may fall down. For seven days and seven nights, the Vraja-vasis do not eat or drink anything. They do not even sleep. They are attracted by the beauty of Krishna—Govardhan-dhari Gopal. They are immersed in the ocean of bliss. Actually, they all have the desire to see Krishna always. But when Vatsalya-rasa devotees are there Sakhya-rasa devotees can’t have His darshan. When Sakhya-rasa devotees are with Him, Madhura-rasa devotees are not able to see Him. But they want to see Krishna all the time. So this pastime is to fulfill their desire. Krishna appears so beautiful while lifting Govardhan, they all forget everything. Nobody dies by not eating or sleeping. This is described in Srimad Bhagavatam.

How do we serve deities? We have a big temple. There are good facilities available for Pujaris and all but still we do not want to serve. We want to keep paid people for serving deities, cooking etc.

We do not want to serve. I was with Guru Maharaj at Rashbehari Math (The Kolkata Math was previously at a rented place at Rashbehari Avenue, near to the place where we have our existing Math). I remember that time, in that three-storied temple, there was one hand operated fan which Guruji also used to operate sometimes. Once he had to go to Prayag. Before leaving, he instructed us, “I am going to Prayag, in my absence all of you should serve. The more service you perform, the more you will benefit. Serve with relationship and love.”

When he came back after two or three months, he saw that the hand operated fan was replaced by an electric fan. One person collected money for the new fan. Gurudev did not like that. He said, “You have no desire to serve. Will you achieve perfection by such acts? Without permission you have installed the electric fan. I could have installed a fan myself but why did I not do it? When you give your energy in service, you will have enthusiasm to serve your beloved.”

I could make out from Guruji’s face that he was disappointed. He said, “They did this. What will happen in the future?” After a few days, the Bhandari (store keeper) of the Math, who belonged to Bangladesh which was a part of India at that time, came and requested Guruji, “There is one young Brahmachari who cooks in the morning and evening for so many people. He has to do so many services from morning till the evening. So please hire someone who can do some service like cleaning the vessels and all.”

Guruji said, “What will the other Brahmacharis do? Will they sit idle? Will devotion come without service? They can wash the vessels. There should be enthusiasm to serve Bhagavan. I will not hire anyone. It is not good to have salaried people for service, cooking etc. This was never done at the time of Prabhupad.”

The Bhandari repeatedly approached Guruji and asked him many times. Guruji was very much disappointed. I was there at that time. I heard Gurumaharaj saying, “That time has gone when people wanted to serve. Now they do not want to serve. They want to stay in comfort. The time ahead is not good. There are so many servants but when it comes to do some service, they are struck with a thunder bolt. They have not understood the significance of doing service and what the service can give them.”

After repeated requests, Gurumaharaj, unwillingly, just externally said, “Okay” to it but from within he was strongly against it.

Lokanath Goswami served the deities on his own, he had no help. Wherever there is love, service is automatic. We see how a mother serves her child despite so many troubles. I have seen my mother, when she was not well and our father told her not to step down from the bed, even that time she used to wash our clothes, put them to dry and make us wear the washed ones. We used to roam around without any care whether our clothes were clean or spoiled. Our father used to get angry with her. How can she do it? She could not bear the fact that there is no one to take care of her children.

We people do not want to serve the Lord. Even in this world where there is no real love, they are ready to labor for the full day and night for material relations. And we think we will die by doing some little service for the Lord. We do not have that service attitude from within. We do not see the relationship.

For Lokanath Goswami, service to Radha Vinod is his wealth (sevā-sampatti). The service to Radha Vinod is wealth; service to Radha Madhava is wealth; service to Radha Govinda is wealth; service to Radha Shyamsundar is wealth; service is wealth; service is the riches.

He made a bag for Radha Vinod to stay in. Radha Vinod is a small deity. Radha Vinod is very satisfied with that bag. Bhagavan is satisfied with love, not by constructing buildings. Bhagavan is mādhurya-svarūpa (the Love Personified). Nobody can cheat Him. We make temples with so much enthusiasm. There many servants stay but nobody is ready to carry out daily services. We find time for worldly services because we see our relationship there. We do not see our relationship with the Lord.

Lokanath Goswami met Gopal Bhatta Goswami, Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami in Vrindavan. They all are Manjaris (the confidants). They are on the platform where they are continuously serving Radha Krishna, not just Krishna, but Radha Krishna. Not just Narayan, Laxmi Narayan. Not just Ram, Sita-Ram. Such is our worship.

Lokanath Goswami takes Radha Vinod out from the bag, serves and puts Him back in the bag. He took a vow that he will not give initiation to anyone and will not make any disciple. In this world people do competitions for making disciples. Lokanath Goswami decided not to have even a single disciple, “I will not make disciples.” He stayed away from even the scent of respect (pratiṣṭhā). Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami wanted to write about him in Chaitanya Charitamrita but he asked him not to write about him. He allowed him to write his name only. Sanatan Goswami also could just mention his name in the Mangalacharan of his compilation, Hari-bhakti-vilas. He disliked getting respect from anyone to such an extent and considered it most abominable. It is difficult to win over pratiṣṭhā. But, Lokanath Goswami feared even the scent from it. And if such a person becomes merciful on someone, will there be any fear for him!

Narottam Thakur, the son of King Krishnananda Datta, was always absorbed in his love for Krishna and was always calling Gaura Hari, Gaura Nityanand. When Mahaprabhu was going to Vrindavan via West Bengal, He was advised by Sanatan Goswami to not to go with so many people. Then while coming back from Kanayi Natashala, in ecstasy, Mahaprabhu called out Narottam’s name, repeatedly. That time Narottam Thakur did not even appear, he appeared quite later. He is Champaka Manjari in Krishna’s pastimes. Why did Mahaprabhu call out Narottam’s name? Because Krishna is bound by the love of His devotees. Everyone wondered about who Narottam is? Nityanand Prabhu asked this question to clear everyone’s doubt. Mahaprabhu replied, “When I had accepted Sannyas and left Navadvipa, You cried a lot. That time I collected that love (tears shed by Nityananda Prabhu) and kept it with River Padma and told her to give it to Narottam.”

That place was earlier called Qutubpur. Later, when Narottam Thakur was having separation grief from Mahaprabhu and Nityanand Prabhu, Nityanand Prabhu appeared to him in a dream and said, “You need not worry. Mahaprabhu has kept His love for you with Padma River.”

A river is not just water. There is a consciousness behind it. As long as there is consciousness in the body, the person is alive, otherwise he is dead. All material existence in this world has got no value without their relation to the knowledge principle. A clock doesn’t come and say that I am a clock. A conscious person can call the clock a clock. A clock has no independent existence of its own. No material thing in this world has got an independent existence. Only conscious principle imparts value to matter. The Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes. Therefore, that Supreme Lord is paramātma svarūp (the highest bliss personified form) and purna-sac-cid-ānanda-vigrah (the embodiment of All-Existence, All-Knowledge and All-Bliss).

Thus instructed by Nityanand Prabhu in his dream Narottam Thakur went to River Padma. She had asked Mahaprabhu, “Many people come here and take a bath. How will I recognize Narottam?” Mahaprabhu replied, “When Narottam will enter in your waters, you will overflow with joy, then you will know.” As soon as Narottam entered, the waters of Padma River started to overflow. Padmavati Devi is like Ganga Devi, she is not just water. She handed over the love to Narottam Thakur. As soon as he received the love, his appearance was changed. He forgot that he is the son of a King etc. and started calling, ‘Krishna, Krishna! O Krishna! O Radhe! O Krishna!” He left his house and all the possessions he had. Without taking any money, food or anything along, he ran towards Vrindavan. He kept walking for three days without eating. He got blisters on his feet and was unable to walk. He fell unconscious. Mahaprabhu came in the form of a cowherd boy and gave him a pot of milk to drink. Narottam did not even have the energy to drink the milk. Rupa and Sanatana Goswami appeared there. They are Rupa Manjari and Rati Manjari. They placed their hands on his chest and fed him the milk. He was rejuvenated.

It is said, ‘rākhe hari, māre ke; māre hari, rākhe ke’—who can kill a person to whom Sri Hari wants to protect and who can save a person whom Sri Hari wants to kill.’ He then reached Vrindavan. He got attracted to Lokanath Goswami when he saw him. He prayed to him for his mercy. Lokanath Goswami said he will not take anyone as his disciple. Narottam Thakur approached Lokanath Goswami many times, but he did not agree to give him initiation.

At that time people used to go to open places to defecate. We have also seen in Vrindavan and other places that people go to open places (like a field or forest) to defecate. Nowadays, there are different types of facilities available. Narottam saw that his Guruji goes to such and such place to defecate. He saw that that place was not so clean. So he went there during night time and cleaned that place. Next morning, when Lokanath Goswami came there, he saw that the place was clean. He thought, “Who did this?” He saw the same thing for two to three days. He thought, “I must see who does this. Today I will stay here and see.” So he sat near that place chanting Harinam and waiting for that person to come. A man came at midnight and cleaned the place.

Lokanath Goswami stood up and asked him, “Who are you? What is your name?” He replied, “I am Narottam, son of Krishnananda.”

“You are the son of a king? And you are doing such dirty work. Don’t do it.”

Narottam started crying and fell at his feet. Lokanath Goswami softened and agreed to give him initiation. When somebody has a strong determination to perform a devotion, the Supreme Lord supports him fully. We have heard about the life of Prahlad. When Hiranyakasipu came to know that, due to the association of Prahlad, all demon children became Vaishnava, he asked Prahlad, “Are you not afraid of me? Indra and everyone else is afraid of me but you are not afraid. Who is giving you this power?”

Prahlad replied, “Lord Vishnu.”

“Again Vishnu? Vishnu is my enemy. Where does Vishnu live?”

“He is everywhere.”

“Is He there in this pillar?

“Yes, He is everywhere. He is there in this pillar as well.”

“I will destroy your God.”

He threw a hard punch into the pillar. A fierce noise emanated as if the whole universe was ripped apart. The Lord Hari then exhibited a wonderful form never before seen,

satyaṁ vidhātuṁ nija-bhṛtya-bhāṣitaṁ
vyāptiṁ ca bhūte ṣv akhile ṣu cātmanaḥ
adṛśyatātyadbhuta-rūpam udvahan
stambhe sabhāyāṁ na mṛgaṁ na mānuṣam
(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.8.17)

“He is present everywhere. He is in every living being. To keep the words of His devotee, He appeared from a pillar. The form was neither that of a man nor that of a lion. Thus the Lord appeared in His wonderful form in the assembly hall.”

The word, ‘mrig’ means knowledge and also an animal. He came as half man and half lion, ‘nṛ-mṛgendra-rūpam.’ The meaning of ‘mrigendra’ is lion, the king of animals. He is neither a lion nor a man, ‘Narsingha’. He appeared to keep the words of His devotee. So if someone takes shelter of a devotee, he will surely get the mercy of the Supreme Lord. It is said, bhakta kṛpā anugāmini bhagavat kṛpā—the mercy of the Lord follows the mercy of His devotee. There is no need to worry. Grace will come without doubt. Today is teh disappearance day of Lokanath Goswami. We have to remember him daily. He is a personal associate of the Supreme Lord. Mahaprabhu came to distribute the love of Radha Krishna to everyone without discrimination,

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam
hariḥpuraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ
sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 1.4)

“May the Supreme Lord Who is known as the son of Sri Sachidevi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.”

It comes in Prabhupad’s Pranam Mantra,

sri- gaura-karuṇā-śakti-vigrahāya namo 'stu te

That our Srila Prabhupad is the personified form of the mercy of Gauranga Mahaprabhu who Himself is very merciful.

Disciples serve Guru. Here, Guru (Prabhupad) is serving the disciples, he says, “You all stay here (in the Math), we will give you food and everything. You chant the name of the Lord.” He is the embodiment of Supreme Lord’s mercy, ‘karuṇā-śakti-vigrahāya’.

Today is the disappearance day of Lokanath Goswami. On the disappearance day we have to remember him, pray for his mercy and sing his glories. How can we do it as they are transcendental? The Lord is transcendental and so are His devotees. We can speak only as much as is revealed in our heart. There is no end to their glories. Glories of the Supreme Lord cannot be concluded. And those devotees who attract the Lord and bind Him with their love, they are even bigger than Him. This was written by my Guruji. Their glories cannot be concluded. Their glories will be revealed in the heart when from the core of the heart we surrender at their lotus feet. Radha Vinod deities of Lokanath Goswami are in Radha Gokulananda temple near his samadhi. We pay our obeisances to Him, pray for Their mercy. We go there during the Vrindavan Parikrama, the Vraja-mandal Parikrama. Lokanath Goswami is the eternal associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is most merciful.

Lokanath Goswami was a renounced Vaishnava, but he saw in Narottam Thakura someone who not only had a cultured background, but an enthusiasm and taste for dealing with people. As a result, he asked him to go back to his homeland Northern Bengal, Kheturi Dhama, to preach the message of Mahaprabhu. There in Kheturi Dhama, Narottam Thakur installed deities and served Them. You may go there.

There are two aspects here. We think that worldly philanthropic work is great but Lokanath Goswami said that those who are surrendered to the Supreme Lord and serve Him; by serving Him everyone is served,

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan,
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam
(Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.41)

“Relinquishing all worldly responsibilities of serving demigods, risis, people, relatives and forefathers, one who takes absolute shelter of Mukunda and serves Him, he does not remain obliged or indebted to anyone.”

If one serves the root (the Supreme Lord), the whole tree (everyone) will be nourished. One does not need to water each part of the tree separately. Vedvyas Muni taught this in Srimad Bhagavatam—by serving Sri Hari, everyone will be served. The secondary aspect of sending Narottam Thakur back to Kheturi by Lokanath Goswami was to spread the message of Mahaprabhu in Northern Bengal. Srinivas Acharya explained to Narottam Das Thakur, “You have nothing to worry about. Your Guruji sent you for this task as you have a knack of dealing with people.” He spread the message of pure devotion from North Bengal to Manipur. Everyone became Vaishnava in Manipur. Shyamanand Prabhu preached in Orissa. Srinivas Acharya delivered King Virahambira and preached in many places.

By serving the Supreme Lord we will not remain indebted to anyone. If this belief is not there then how will we do bhajan? By paying obeisances at the lotus feet of Lokanath Goswami, we pray for his causeless mercy. Though he did not accept disciples except Narottam Thakur, he is extremely merciful. The Supreme Lord showers grace through such merciful devotees. Gurumaharaj says, “Vaishnava do not accept disciples for the sake of becoming a Guru. They do so to serve the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord gets satisfied if one helps someone become inclined to Him.” Outside people may consider, “One who gives instructions is a Guru and one who accepts those instructions is his disciple.” But a Guru does not consider himself to be a Guru. He tries to serve the Lord. If he can make even one person understand about the devotion to Lord Hari, the Lord becomes satisfied. Therefore, if devotees like Lokanath Goswami shower his mercy upon us then the Supreme Lord’s grace will automatically come on us and there will not be any problem. I did not have darshan of Lokanath Goswami or Prabhupad or Bhaktivinoda Thakur but I had darshan of Guruji, so I pay innumerable prostrated obeisance unto his lotus feet and pray for his causeless mercy. May he forgive the offenses I have committed, knowingly or unknowingly and give me the service of his lotus feet.