The Deity is real

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Here is another one:

 

Srémad-Bhagavatam 4.14.14

 

November 16, 1971, Delhi

 

.......So the sages address the king that "Kindly hear our instruction and your

duration of life will be increased." Not only duration of life,

sri-bala-kirtinam. Sri means beauty. Unless you are healthy, there will be

no beauty of your body. So duration of life increased means he is healthy

and, therefore, he should look bright and beautiful. Sri-bala, strength,

and kirtinam. And if one is actually advanced in spiritual life or if one

is actually religious, then his fame also increases. He doesn't require to

advertise himself, but if he is pious, if he is devotee, automatically his

fame will be expanded. Just like there is one very nice example, Sri

Madhavendra Puri. Madhavendra Puri was going to..., from this Vrndavana.

Madhavendra Puri. Perhaps you do not know the story of Madhavendra Puri.

Madhavendra Puri was a great devotee in this Gaudiya-sampradaya, and in

this Govardhana, there was Gopala covered by dirty and jungles and trees.

So the Gopala... When Madhavendra Puri was in Vrndavana, the Gopala in

dream expressed Himself, "Madhavendra Puri, I am very much suffocated. I

am covered by this dirt and jungles. Please re-excavate Me from this

condition and install Me in the temple." So Madhavendra Puri, with the

help of villagers, he excavated the earth and found this Gopala murti. And

this Gopala murti was installed by the help of the villagers very

luxuriantly. For so many days there was festival. That is the way of

installing Deity. At least for seven days there must be festival. So after

some days, Madhavendra Puri was informed in dream that "Since I was long

within the earth, My body is very much heated. So you kindly bring some

sandalwood from Jagannatha Puri and smear all over the body the pulp of

sandalwood, then I shall be happy."

 

So Madhavendra Puri was very old man at that time, and it is order of

Gopalaji, so he started for Jagannatha Puri. On the way there is a

Gopinatha temple in Orissa, on the border of Orissa and Bengal in the

district of Dantarn(?), that is called Danta(?). So he stayed there

overnight and he saw that the Gopala..., Gopinathaji was offered ksira,

seven pots of ksira. So Madhavendra Puri thought within himself, "If I

could taste a little ksira, then I would also make such ksira to offer my

Gopala in Vrndavana." Then again he thought that "Oh, I am so stupid that

before offering to the Deity I am thinking of eating it." He thought

himself to be very much culprit, and he immediately left the temple, "No,

I shall not. I am committing offense." It is an offense. Therefore, when

you bring bhoga for the Deity, it should be covered so that we greedy men

may not see it and try to taste it. Kanistha-adhikaris, they sometimes do

that. Sometimes they take away something before offering to the Deity.

These are great offenses. So Madhavendra Puri thought it that he was a

great offender; he should not live in this temple, he should go outside.

So he went outside, and underneath a tree he was chanting Hare Krsna, Hare

Krsna, just to pass over the night, then proceed toward Jagannatha Puri.

So at night the Deity, Gopinatha, was asking the pujari, the priest, that

"I have kept one pot of ksira behind My back garment," pitavastra(?) "So

you take this pot of ksira, condensed milk, to Madhavendra Puri -- he is

sitting underneath a tree -- and offer him." So the pujari wake up, and

actually when he opened the door of the Deity room, he found that pot of

ksira. So he could understand that "This Madhavendra Puri is not an

ordinary devotee, he is a great devotee; otherwise how the Lord has stolen

this pot for him?" Since then, that Gopinatha is famous as Ksira-cora

Gopinatha. Ksira-cora Gopinatha, the Gopinatha who stole the ksira for His

devotee.

 

So He is known as thief, Ksira-cora. He is famous as a great thief. Still

people go to see Him, how nice this thief is. That is the difference

between Krsna and ourself. When we are thief, we are beaten by shoes. And

when Krsna is thief, He is worshiped by devotees. Just like Krsna is

worshiped as Ranacora, who left the war field. When a man leaves the war

field, he is called coward. But Krsna, everyone knows for pastimes He left

the war field. It was in the Gujarat province. Krsna as the Ranacora who

left the war field. That is cowardice; still He is worshiped. That is

absolutism. Krsna in any condition, He is Krsna. Either as Ksira-cora

Gopinatha, or as a taunter to the gopis, or any way in the material world

which is abominable. But when Krsna does it, because He is absolute, it is

good. That is absolutism. You cannot accuse Krsna that "Oh, You have done

like this." Whatever He has done, it is right.