(3) Epitome of Humility

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Siliguri, 1 May 2019, evening, part 3
Translated from Bengali

You may not have heard it, but please know that when you offer your obeisances, you should not touch the person's feet. Do you know why Mahaprabhu prohibited to touch His feet when devotees came to offer Him obeisances? He was very humble. He considered Himself very lowly. We have no right to allow anybody to touch the feet of such lowly souls as ourselves. But some are very clever – what do they do? You tell them not to touch your feet, and they come and touch their heads to your feet. What will you say then? They think that they want to get your foot dust, and if they cannot put some dust on their heads with their hand, then the touch their heads to your feet to get it – even 'better'. ‘Ye jana Krsna bhaje sei bada chatur (যে জন কৃষ্ণ ভজে সেই বড় চতুর). Those who worship Krishna are very clever.’

When Mahaprabhu stayed in Puri (you all know that He lived in Gambhira, at Kashi Misra's house), every day He would come to take the darshan of Lord Jagannath's mangal-arati. After arati, He would go to see Srila Haridas Thakur, and after that, He went to bath in the ocean. That was His daily routine. When devotees came to Puri (from Bengal and other places), they would all come with Mahaprabhu to have the darshan of Lord Jagannath. Before you enter the temple, there is a place where you can wash your feet (you should wash your feet before entering the temple). Mahaprabhu also came there and washed His feet, and nobody was allowed to touch His feet. If anybody tried to approach Him and touch His feet, Mahaprabhu's servitors (Govinda or others) immediately chased them away. But when Kalidas Thakur came to touch Mahaprabhu's feet, everybody rushed to stop him, 'Hey, do not touch Prabhu's feet! Do not touch!' Kalidas was a poor devotee – his clothes were old and not so clean. He looked like a beggar. So, when everybody rushed to stop him, Mahaprabhu Himself said, 'Do not stop him.' So, Kalidas touched Mahaprabhu's feet.

In the evening, when Mahaprabhu was with the devotees, they asked Him,

'Prabhu, You always forbid everybody to touch Your feet. How come You allowed it to that man?'

'If I tell you about that man, will you listen? If you hear about that man's qualities, you will be astonished.'

When all the devotees took prasad, Kalidas Thakur never went there because he was afraid that he would accidentally touch any Vaishnav with his feet or body. He always stayed away. When all the Vaishnavs took prasad, they threw away their plates in some place, and Kalidas would come there and lick their plates – he took everybody's remnants. Would you be able to do this? Such was Kalidas Thakur. Just think about it! How great he is!

So, Mahaprabhu said, 'He has become a "seasoned" Vaishnav (jhanu-vaishnav). He was "beaten with a shoe" by all the pure devotees, so there is no way I can say anything to him.'

This is how Kalidas Thakur got Mahaprabhu's mercy.

We, too, must become like that. We say with our mouths, 'Tan sabara pada-renu mora pancha-grasa (তাঁ সবার পদরেণু মোর পঞ্চগ্রাস). Their foot dust is my five forms of sustenance.' We say that we want to place devotees' foot dust in our mouths, but do we really believe this?...

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