One of my
favorite stories from the Caitanya Caritamrta:
FINER
POINTS OF ETIQUETTE
Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu lay down at the door of the Gambhira, and Govinda came
there to massage His legs.
It was a
steady, long-standing rule that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would lie down to rest
after lunch and Govinda would come to massage His legs. Then Govinda would honor the remnants of food left by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Govinda would come to massage His legs. Then Govinda would honor
the remnants of food left by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
This time
when the Lord lay down, He occupied the entire doorway. Govinda could not enter
the room, and therefore he made the following request.
Govinda
said, "Kindly turn on one side. Let me pass to enter the
room."However, the Lord replied, "I don't have the strength to move
My body."
Govinda
made his request again and again, but the Lord replied, "I cannot move My
body."
Govinda
repeatedly requested, "I want to massage Your legs."But the Lord
said, "Do it or don't do it. It depends upon your mind."
Then
Govinda spread the Lord's wrapper over His body and in this way entered the
room by crossing over the Lord.
Govinda
massaged the Lord's legs as usual. He pressed the Lord's waist and back very
softly, and thus all the Lord's fatigue went away.
As
Govinda stroked His body, the Lord slept very nicely for about forty-five
minutes, and then His sleep broke.
When Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw Govinda sitting by His side, He was somewhat angry.
"Why have you been sitting here for so long today?" the Lord asked.
"Why
didn't you go to take your meal after I fell asleep?" the Lord
asked.Govinda replied, "You were lying down, blocking the door, and there
was no way to go."
The Lord
asked, "How did you enter the room? Why didn't you go out to take your
lunch in the same way?"
Govinda
mentally replied, "My duty is to serve, even if I have to commit offenses
or go to hell. I
would not mind committing hundreds and thousands of offenses for the service of
the Lord, but I greatly fear committing even a glimpse of an offense for my own
self."
Thinking
in this way, Govinda kept silent. He did not reply to the Lord's inquiry.
It was
Govinda's practice to go take lunch when the Lord was asleep. On that day, however,
seeing the Lord's weariness, Govinda continued massaging His body.
There was
no way to go. How could he leave? When he thought of crossing over the Lord's
body, he considered it a great offense.
These are
some of the finer points of etiquette in devotional service. Only one who has
received the mercy of SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu can understand these principles.
The Lord
is very interested in manifesting the exalted qualities of His devotees, and
that is why He engineered this incident.
Caitanya
Caritamrta
