The Divine Name - Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaja

HARIDAS THAKUR AT PURIThakur - the inspiring ideal of humilityWITHIN a short period after Sriman Mahaprabhu settled at Nilachal,Haridas Thakur reached that place in the company of other devotees fromBengal. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had Strong affection for HaridasThakur. He was extremely delighted to hear the news of the arrival ofHaridas Thakur and other devotees. All devotees except Haridas Thakurproceeded directly to Sriman Mahaprabhu. He received them all. But,Haridas Thakur was conspicuous by his absence. Sriman Mahaprabhu wasvery eager to meet Haridas Thakur and on inquiry, He received thesurprising news that Haridas Thakur was lying prostrate at a long distanceon the road itself. Sriman Mahaprabhu immediately sent for him, butHaridas Thakur preferred to remain aloof. He said, "I am of a low caste, amost unworthy person. I do not deserve to go to the temple limits. If I amfavoured with a small space somewhere inside the garden close by, I couldlead a lonely happy life by remaining there. I need not touch the Sevakasof Sri Jagannatha and pollute them, and thereby stand in their way ofservice of the Lord. Hence, I prefer to remain aloof; this is my humbledesire."Temple and ritualistic worshipSriman Mahaprabhu was very happy to hear this decision of HaridasThakur. Though there was none to stand in the way of Haridas Thakurgoing to the temple or to any other sacred place, he was never asupporter of entering the temple by his own initiative or by force,disregarding all the social barriers. Such entry into the premises of thetemple is a deliberate denial of the importance of the temple as a place ofreligious worship, and hence of its very sanctity itself. Such entry, wouldnot improve a man morally or spiritually. Temple is not a place whereevery individual can exercise his whimsical fads or idiosyncratic rights. It isnot a place of exhibition or amusement or secular entertainment. It isneither a place for satisfying the political or social ambitions of men. It isinvariably a place of religious worship that stands solely for the spiritualamelioration of mankind, a place from where thousands and thousands getspiritual inspiration. One should approach such a holy place with realsubmissiveness, united to a God-fearing temperament and faith in DivineObjects for purposes of prayer or worship and not for the satisfaction ofone's turbulent material senses or with a challenging claim to social right.133