11.195
mandirera cakra dekhi’ kariha pranama
ei thani tomara asibe prasadanna
SYNONYMS
mandirera—of the temple of Jagannatha; cakra—the wheel on the top; dekhi’—seeing; kariha pranama—offer your obeisances; ei thani—in this place; tomara—your; asibe—will come; prasada-anna—remnants of food of Jagannatha “Remain here peacefully and look at the cakra on the top of the temple and offer obeisances.
As far as your prasada is concerned, I shall arrange to have that sent here.”Since he was born in a Muslim family, Srila Haridasa Thakura could not enter the temple of Jagannatha due to temple restrictions.
Nonetheless, he was recognized by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Namacarya Haridasa Thakura.
Haridasa Thakura, however, considered himself unfit to enter the Jagannatha temple.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu could have personally taken Haridasa Thakura into the Jagannatha temple if He wished, but the Lord did not like to disturb a popular custom.
Consequently the Lord asked His servant simply to look at the Visnu wheel on top of the temple and offer obeisances (namaskara).
This means that if one is not allowed to enter the temple, or if he thinks himself unfit to enter the temple, he can look at the wheel from outside the temple, and that is as good as seeing the Deity within.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu promised to come daily to see Srila Haridasa Thakura, and this indicates that Srila Haridasa Thakura was so advanced in spiritual life that, although considered unfit to enter the temple, he was being personally visited by the Lord every day.
Nor was there any need for his going outside his residence to collect food.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu assured Haridasa Thakura that the remnants of His food would be sent there.
As the Lord states in the Bhagavad-gita (9.22), yoga-ksemam vahamy aham: “I arrange all life’s necessities for My devotees.” A reference is made here for those who are very anxious to imitate the behavior of Thakura Haridasa in an unnatural way.
One must receive the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or His representative before adopting such a way of life.
The duty of a pure devotee or a servant of the Lord is to carry out the order of the Lord.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Nityananda Prabhu to go to Bengal and preach, and He asked the Gosvamis, Rupa and Sanatana, to go to Vrndavana and excavate the lost places of pilgrimage.
In this case the Lord asked Haridasa Thakura to remain there at Jagannatha Puri and constantly chant the holy names of the Lord.
Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave different persons different orders, and consequently one should not try to imitate the behavior of Haridasa Thakura without being ordered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or His representative.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura condemns such imitations in this way:
dusta mana! tumi kisera vaisnava?
pratisthara tare, nirjanera ghare, tava hari-nama kevala kaitava “My dear mind, you are trying to imitate Haridasa Thakura and chant the Hare Krsna mantra in a secluded place, but you are not worth being called a Vaisnava because what you want is cheap popularity and not the actual qualifications of Haridasa Thakura.
If you try to imitate him you will fall down, for your neophyte position will cause you to think of women and money.