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Vrindavan
Vrindavan
Total Records Found: 3
I
About two miles from Vrindavan, he saw a man contentedly smoking a pipe (Chillum) by the wayside. The Swami, weary, felt that a smoke would do him good; so he asked the man to allow him to have a pull or two at the pipe. The smoker shrank back and said diffidently, "It would defile you, sir. I am a Bhangi [a sweeper]". The Swami, conditioned by caste-con¬sciousness, shrank back too, and went his way, After going a short distance, the thought struck him, "What! I have taken the sannyasi's vow and have given up all ideas of caste, family prestige and so forth: yet I fell back into caste ideas when the man told me that he was a sweeper! And I could not smoke the pipe which he had touched! That was due to ages of habit." The thought made him so restless that he turned back and found the man still seated there. Sitting down beside him, he said, "Brother, do prepare me a Chillum of tobacco." But the man humbly expostulated, "Sir, you are a holy man: I am an outcaste!" But the Swami would not listen to his objections and insisted on having a smoke from that pipe. (LSV)
I
While going round the Govardhan Hill, the Swami vowed that he would not beg his food from anyone, that he would eat only what was offered to him without asking. During the first day he became exceedingly hungry at noon. To add to his discomfort, heavy rain began to fall. He grew faint with hunger and with much walking, out still went on and on, without asking for food. Suddenly he heard someone calling him from behind, but he did not answer. Nearer and nearer came the voice, that of a devotee, calling out that he had brought food for him. The Swami began to run as fast as he could, to test this apparent act of Providence. The man, running after him for nearly a mile, overtook him and insisted that he accept the food. The Swami accepted it, saying nothing. Shortly after, the man disappeared among the trees. Ecstatic with devotion at this miraculous act of the Lord, and with tears streaming from his eyes, the Swami cried out, "Glory to Shri Radha! Glory to Shri Krishna!" In the wilderness the Lord had taken care of His devotee. (LSV)
I
From Govardhan the Swami went on to Radhakunda, sacred for its association with Shri Radha. At this time he was wearing only a Kaupin (narrow strip of cloth about the loins). Having no other to wear after his bath, he took it off, washed it, and left it on the side of the tank to dry whilst he was bathing. When he had bathed, he found the Kaupin missing. In his search he chanced to look up in a tree: there he saw a monkey sitting, the Kaupin in its hands. When the monkey refused to surrender it, the Swami was filled with anger against Shri Radha, the presiding deity of the place. He vowed that he would go into the recesses of the forest and starve himself to death. As he advanced into the jungle in pursuance of his plan, a man, who probably had seen the whole incident, came up with a new ochre cloth and some food, which the Swami accepted. The Swami was no doubt astounded; it seemed like a miracle. When he retraced his steps to the tank, to his surprise he found his Kaupin lying just where he had put it to dry. Such incidents convinced him that he was beloved of the Lord and protected by Him wherever he was. (LSV)
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