Sanátan replied, "It was no great hardship. I did not feel that my feet were being blistered. I am not entitled to pass by the singhá-dwár road, especially, as the servitors of the god Jagannáth frequently pass along it and it would be a disaster if I touch any of them."
The Master's heart was pleased to hear of it, and He began to tell Sanátan, "Though you are the saviour of the world and your touch can purify even the gods and sages, yet it is the sign of a [true] bhakta to respect the dignity [of rank or caste]. It is an ornament to a sadhu's character to observe distinctions (maryádá) of rank. Not to do so is to court public ridicule and to destroy one's own earthly life and spiritual welfare as well."
Sanátan's body was covered with running eruptions. The Master embraced him in spite of prohibition, and His body was stained with the exudation, at which Sanátan grieved.
But the Master said, "The body of a Vaishnav is not material. It is supra-physical and full of the chit and ánanda of bhakti. At the time of his initiation the bhakta surrenders himself to Krishna, who then renders him equal to his own self, and fills the body with his own chit and ánanda. The Lord Krishna has visited Sanátan's body with sores only to test me. If I had in disgust refused to embrace him, I should have been guilty in the eyes of Krishna."
So saying, He embraced Sanátan again, and lo! the sores disappeared and his body assumed a golden hue!
After the dol-yatrá he was given leave to depart to Brindában with minute instructions as to what he should do there to propagate the faith. [A long list of the Vaishnav literature produced by Rup, Sanátan, and their nephew Jiv, the son of their youngest brother Vallabh Anupam,—not translated here].
[[1]] Chapters XXIII-XXVII are taken from the Antya Lila or Third Book of the text.
CHAPTER XXIV
Meeting with Vallabh Bhatta; the Master stints His food
Thus did the luminous Gaur (Chaitanya) perform many feats in many a playful way with His bhaktas at Niláchal. Though His heart was inly pierced with the pang of separation from Krishna, yet He did not express it outwardly lest His disciples should grieve. When, however, His intense love-sickness [for Krishna] did break forth, His agony baffled description. The Krishna-talk of Rámánanda and the [sacred] singing of Swarup saved the Master's life amidst the pain of separation from Krishna. In the day time His mind was diverted by the diverse company that He met, but in [the solitude of] night His love-sickness waxed strong. To please Him these two always kept Him company and consoled Him with verses and songs about Krishna.