Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī

Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī

Although his precise date of birth is not known, it is understood that by the early 1940s, Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī was more than 90 years old. He came from a village in the Mymensingh District of Bengal (now in Bangladesh, north of Dhaka), and after leaving there, spent a long time in both Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa, returning to Mymensingh later, where he departed from this world. In the morning he would recite Sanskrit ślokas, then all day he was plunged in bhajana, often chanting loudly: “Hari, Hari! Gopījanavallabha, Hari! Bhaktavatsala, Hari!” He would continue like this on and on.

Vaṁśīdāsa had his kuṭīra in Navadvīpa town, where Sarasvatī Ṭhākura would sometimes pay him a visit, accompanied by some disciples, whom he warned not to commit any offenses, and to just sit silently, because the tendency might be for them to misunderstand, seeing as Vaṁśīdāsa was very much an avadhūta. He looked very strange — almost like a madman. He would often sing or quote: nitāyera karuṇā habe, vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe… He had no external consciousness and was always eccentric like an avadhūta, plunged in bhajana.

Jyotiśekhara Prabhu (a disciple of Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s, who spent some time serving Vaṁśīdāsa, and who also accompanied him on a journey, walking from Navadvīpa to Purī and back) noted that during his three-month stay with him he never once saw him pass stool or urine, nor take a bath. 

Vaṁśīdāsa was very difficult to keep up with, because sometimes he moved, sometimes he stopped, sometimes he cooked for the Deity, etc. There was no saying when he would start or stop and it would be at any time of the day or night, wherever he was. He would eat every three to four days only: his body was completely transcendental.

Whatever he ate he cooked himself, and he would never eat anything cooked by anyone else. He was a svapakī. Sometimes he would cook khicaṛī. After feeding Kṛṣṇa he would take something himself, then he would call the devotees, “Come here!” and would give the remnants in the pot. They would send this mahā-mahā-prasāda of Vaṁśīdāsa to sādhus in Navadvīpa and Vṛndāvana, who were anxious to receive it.

He wouldn’t go beg from all the houses. He would go to the homes of people he knew were pious devotees who had respect for him. He would simply stand outside and call out, “Gaura-Nitāi. Gaura-Nitāi!” and those people would come and give him vegetables, fruits, or different things.

Many times people came to his kuṭīra and gave him things to eat, but he would almost always refuse, saying: “No, no. Gaura-Nitāi, They won’t eat this. You take it away.” Sometimes he would go to the market place and find all the bad, thrown-out vegetables and take these. As he was passing on the road, people would see him and realize how he was a mahāpuruṣa, so they would offer things to him like ghee, flour, sugar, etc.

Sometimes, seeing that a great sādhu had come to their village, the villagers would arrange a big feast and would beg things from other villagers, but he never cared for all this feasting and the villagers coming, and would just continue on his journey. Sometimes the devotees would stop in one village to cook for themselves, but he would just go on, without waiting for them.

Vaṁśīdāsa used a hukkā many times every day, smoking a very strong variety of tobacco by the name of […]. Jyotiśekhara said that the devotees used to supply him with that tobacco, purchasing it from Calcutta or Navadvīpa. Sucking that hukkā he would call out very loudly, “Bhaktavatsala Hari!” while the hukkā went, “glug, glug, glug, glug,..”

Rumors that he cooked and ate fish are completely bogus, as Jyotiśekhara Prabhu, who was with him for three months, never saw such a thing. Once Purī Mahārāja remembers how Vaṁśīdāsa saw everything in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way. For example, he might hear someone say the word “government” and he would exclaim, “O, Govardhana.. Govardhanadhārī!” He would convert everything and relate it to Kṛṣṇa.

One very interesting point is that even though Vaṁśīdāsa appeared to talk like a madman, nothing against the scriptures would ever be spoken by him. Everything was completely in line with the siddhānta. It should be noted that there are many people who pretend to be advanced devotees, but those who are actually advanced and absorbed in this spontaneous, loving mood of devotion to Kṛṣṇa, even though not necessarily in vidhi-mārga, never go outside of the injunctions in the śāstra or the philosophical understandings of the śāstra. For one who is a pretender this is not possible.

Vaṁśīdāsa would always refer to himself not in the first person, as in āmi or āmāra — “I” and “mine”, but in the third person, as “Vaṁśīdāsa.” He would not say, “I had to go there” but rather, “Vaṁśīdāsa had to go there.” In Bengal, on the Holī day (also called Dola-yātrā, Gaura Pūrṇimā, Phālguṇa Pūrṇimā), there is the tradition of throwing phālgu (a kind of colored powder) at each other, and Vaṁśīdāsa also made it known that he had no objections to people throwing it on him, so all the people in the town came and did so, as a kind of worship of him. 

Vaṁśīdāsa just sat in his cottage the whole of that day while people threw powder on him. He wouldn’t eat or drink anything, not even water, because he was fasting for Gaura Pūrṇimā. In this way, one after another, thousands upon thousands of people came to take part and he became totally immersed in powder, like a hill, sitting silently and tolerating everything.

One time he heard a boatman, who was rowing across the Ganges at Navadvīpa, singing a song of Narottama dāsa. The meaning of that song is, “The spear has entered my heart. It has neither killed me nor can I survive.” There is a very deep meaning to this song, comparing separation from Kṛṣṇa to be just like that spear.

When Vaṁśīdāsa heard that boatman singing this he commented, “You are singing but don’t know what this means. You do not know the import. You are simply enjoying singing the song, without any realization, but when we hear this song our hearts are pierced. You don’t know that. You’re just singing, but my heart is breaking.”

One time he was going to collect some water in his clay pot from the Ganges, but due to the apparent infirmity of old age, he slipped on the bank and fell down. He was then heard saying, “Go on, go ahead. You go and bring water for washing Kṛṣṇa.” It was as if he was seeing that he was going to collect water from the Yamunā with so many gopīs, and he was telling them to go ahead.

No one could see any gopīs, but this was his vision. After a few minutes he said [to Kṛṣṇa]: “Get out. Go out! You already took date-sugar and sweet-rice in Vṛndāvana. You took something there. Why shall I cook for You here?” Later that day, the devotees would find out that in the Rādhā-Ramaṇa temple, in Vṛndāvana, they had fed Kṛṣṇa just as Vaṁśīdāsa had described, with date-guṛ (a sweet prepared from the sap of date trees) and sweet rice.

One time some devotees came to visit, bringing some jackfruit from Māyāpura with them, but they had taken out the seeds, which is a common thing to do, because the seeds are very big and are usually kept for cooking in sabjīs. Vaṁśīdāsa said jokingly, “O, you gave me the jackfruit, but you kept the seeds.” He was very humorous like this. An elephant was walking on the main road in Purī one day and everyone was giving paisā to it in its trunk. Upon seeing it Vaṁśīdāsa said: se sambandha nāhi jā’r, vṛthā janma gelo tā’r, e paśu baḍo durācāra… — the elephant is serving its master but I cannot serve my master.

This was in reference to a song written by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, which is actually written, sei paśu baḍo durācāra… — such a person who has no relationship with Nityānanda, his life is useless, and he is a great rascal, just like an animal. But when Vaṁśīdāsa saw that big animal, that elephant, instead of sei paśu he said, e paśu — this animal, referring to himself, in all humility.

Near Chuttak is a place where there were many flies, so the devotees tried to scatter them away. Upon seeing this Vaṁśīdāsa said, “Don’t do that. It is Nanda Mahārāja’s home. There is so much milk and curd here. Why won’t flies come? It is Vraja.” He saw every place as Vraja; anything and everything reminded him of Vṛndāvana.

As they were walking they saw a train going on a bridge and somehow or other this reminded him of Vṛndāvana, so he called out, “Rāsa-maṇḍala, rāsa-maṇḍala! What are you doing, Rāi Kiśorī [an affectionate name for Rādhārāṇī]?” Even things totally unrelated to the holy dhāma would remind him of Vṛndāvana.

Traveling in India

Vaṁśīdāsa once went by bullock cart from Navadvīpa to Vṛndāvana, and after going around all the Vraja-maṇḍala area he returned after two years. He would sit on that cart and talk to Mahāprabhu and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. When he came back to Navadvīpa he said to Mahāprabhu and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, “I’ve been to Nanda Mahārāja’s house in Vṛndāvana, at Nandagrāma, and I’ve seen the churning pot.” He used to say, “I’ve seen Nanda and Yaśodā’s house at Gokula, but I could not see Nanda and Yaśodā. Only the stones I have seen.” This was his mood of separation — “I went to Vṛndāvana but I could not find Kṛṣṇa.”

At the Mahānadī River, Vaṁśīdāsa and some other devotees with him crossed it, but when he saw the money that they were giving to the boatman Vaṁśīdāsa said, “Get out. Get out of the boat. Money is like a black snake and brings all kinds of trouble,” but soon he forgot about the whole incident. At the holy place of Yājapura, where the River Vaitaraṇī runs, they all stayed overnight. It was a full moon, and during the night so many ladies came to offer respects to Vaṁśīdāsa.

They would come before him, bow down, and without saying anything, leave. The following morning the devotees asked some people where the village was, but they were told there was no village for many miles, only fields. They then told the villagers how they had seen many women coming throughout the night to pay homage to Vaṁśīdāsa, but the bewildered villagers exclaimed, “How is that possible?” The devotees could only conclude that those women they had seen that night were all demigoddesses who appeared there to offer Vaṁśīdāsa respects.

Associates, Servants and Followers

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī had great respect for one another. Vaṁśīdāsa would refer to Sarasvatī Ṭhākura as Jagannāthera Bimalā, because when he was younger his name used to be Bimalā Prasāda, which refers to the son born as the mercy of “Bimalā Devī” — the Deity of Durgā in the Jagannātha temple. Sometimes Sarasvatī Ṭhākura would go and visit Vaṁśīdāsa, and seeing him coming, Vaṁśīdāsa would exclaim, “O, a mañjarī has come, so won’t Rādhā come also? She will come. She will come!” He was referring to Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī being a mañjarī.

Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī had a close circle of servants and followers during his lifetime and was very careful about whom he would associate with, talking with a select few only. These devotees were with Vaṁśīdāsa, on-and-off, for a while, serving him in different ways; bringing some food, cleaning, helping him when he went outside, etc. Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī only allowed very few people to intimately associate with him.

One of them was Pūrṇa, one was Ananta Viśvambhara, another was Suren Kuṇḍu, who was a cloth merchant and a well-to-do man of Navadvīpa town. These were some devotees belonging to his intimate circle. Dāmodara Tulasī Bābājī from Vṛndāvana used to travel with Vaṁśīdāsa from time to time, and another follower of Vaṁśīdāsa was one Pītāmbara dāsa.

It is said that Vaṁśīdāsa had two disciples; however, they weren’t officially disciples but followers, who used to travel with him. One was called Dāmodara and the other was called Bihārī. They came with him from his home district of Mymensingh and when he went back they also went with him. They were both from Mymensingh themselves, with one of them even being from the same village as Vaṁśīdāsa. Dāmodara dāsa and Tulasī Bābā were with Vaṁśīdāsa for around five years each.

The merchant follower of Vaṁśīdāsa was very prosperous, but after Vaṁśīdāsa left this world he lost everything. That merchant constructed a two-story building for him, which he stayed in for some time and then later gave up. This was in Navadvīpa town. Now that building has been destroyed by the changing course of the Gaṅgā.

Just as the rainy season was coming, Vaṁśīdāsa was asked to leave that house for his own safety and comfort, but he said, “No, I’d like to stay here; the Gaṅgā is coming.” So they constructed, on bamboo poles, a new cottage, so he could stay there during the flood. 

Jyotiśekhara Prabhu stayed with Vaṁśīdāsa for around three months, as he went from Navadvīpa to Purī and on to Kharagpur. He was sent by members of the Gauḍīya Mission, along with two other devotees, just to be with Vaṁśīdāsa as he went on pilgrimage, because he was such an avadhūta that from the external point of view it might be considered that he needed some help to go here and there, as he was, almost always, hardly conscious of the external world. So Jyotiśekhara Prabhu saw many things and testified how Vaṁśīdāsa was a mahāpuruṣa in vātsalya-rasa.

After three months Jyotiśekhara Prabhu was about to leave Vaṁśīdāsa, so he asked for his mercy and blessings. Vaṁśīdāsa then answered by speaking to Gopāla, telling the story of how Nārada once asked Kṛṣṇa for His mercy, and Kṛṣṇa replied, “Offer flowers and fruits, then I shall be merciful.” Nārada said, “I’m a poor man. Where shall I get fruits and flowers from?” “If you can’t get fruits and flowers then at least pray once to Me,” said the Lord. In this way, Vaṁśīdāsa indirectly replied to Jyotiśekhara.

However, Jyotiśekhara again asked him what kind of sādhana he should do, to which Vaṁśīdāsa said, “Nārada once asked Kṛṣṇa a similar question, so Kṛṣṇa replied that just as it is impossible to put sand in the ocean to build a road across it, in the same way it is impossible to get the Lord’s mercy by just following sādhana, what to speak of by material means. We must get the mercy of the devotees, and then only is it possible. Then the Lord will be merciful to us and we shall be favored.”

Sometimes Vaṁśīdāsa, in a mood of anger, would tell Dīnabandhu dāsa Bābājī, who was one of his associates, “Put Kṛṣṇa out. Get Him out from here!” This was at his kuṭīra in Navadvīpa. Of course, no one but Vaṁśīdāsa could even see Kṛṣṇa. After the passing away of Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, Ananta Viśvambhara dāsa (a disciple of Sarasvatī Ṭhākura) managed to approach Vaṁśīdāsa. This is an interesting story because Vaṁśīdāsa was generally very cautious about having anything to do with anyone, but he gradually allowed Ananta Viśvambhara into his small circle. 

Ananta describes how he, along with one wealthy man, gradually approached Vaṁśīdāsa. They were both anxious to get the remnants of Vaṁśīdāsa’ prasādam, so they would crouch down and hide behind one flower bush, just outside his kuṭīra. Then, after taking his meal, Vaṁśīdāsa would come outside and wash his mouth out with water.

When he went away the two of them would then search the area to see where the tiny pieces of mahā-mahā-prasādam were, and in this way take his remnants. If they couldn’t find anything they would just see where the grass was wet from the water out of his mouth and suck that grass with great satisfaction.

In this way, gradually, Ananta Viśvambhara dāsa approached Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī. They would do this so that he wouldn’t see them, after he went back into the kuṭīra. Then they would take his remnants in this way. They continued this practice for some period of time before Vaṁśīdāsa gradually noticed and slowly they were allowed into his company.

Sometimes during the dry season, Vaṁśīdāsa would ask Ananta Viśvambhara to bring the Caitanya-caritāmṛta to read to him in a solitary place on the bank of the Ganges, where there was a great open field next to the area which floods during the rainy season. No one would build a house or anything there, so it remained an open field for eight months of the year. Vaṁśīdāsa especially liked to hear of Rāmānanda Rāya speaking with Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and listening to this, tears would flow profusely from his eyes.

Vaṁśīdāsa was singing a song once about how love for Kṛṣṇa sometimes burns like fire, yet is sometimes cold like ice. But while singing it he would change it into his Mymensingh dialect from the original Bengali. Ananta Viśvambhara, who was cooking at this time, heard this, and in a corrective way, sang it with the original Bengali pronunciation. Vaṁśīdāsa became very angry and picked up a stick from the fire in which Ananta Viśvambhara was cooking and went as if to hit him with it.

Many people would come and visit Vaṁśīdāsa, bringing a large quantity of vegetables along with them. Vaṁśīdāsa himself would only use a few of these vegetables, and the excess was given to a black cow, which would come regularly to feed on them. At one time, in Māyāpura, there was one papaya growing on a tree and Ananta Viśvambhara noticed what a beautiful papaya it was. He watched it gradually grow ripe, until it was just perfect. He then, very carefully, went up that tree using a ladder and brought that papaya down.

Then after placing it in a bag, he brought it to Vaṁśīdāsa in Navadvīpa. Vaṁśīdāsa put it along with so many other vegetables and fruits that other people had brought. Shortly afterwards, that black cow came and started to eat all the fruit and vegetables. Just as it was about to eat the papaya Vaṁśīdāsa snatched it away, because he knew that Ananta Viśvambhara had put so much love and devotion into bringing it that he didn’t want it to be eaten by the cow.

For some time Vaṁśīdāsa was living in a three-story house, just next to the bank of the Ganges, where the flood area ends. He only used the ground floor of this house because he was too old to use the upper floors. One day in the rainy season, he told Pūrṇa (his servant), “In the morning there will be a great flood, so move everything out of here.” 

Pūrṇa moved everything, as he had been told, into a house away from the flood area, and the next morning, as Vaṁśīdāsa had predicted, the Ganges came over her banks and flooded that whole area, including that house. But as everything had been taken out, including the Deities, they were saved from all difficulty.

So many people were coming to take bath in the Ganges, and Vaṁśīdāsa’ āśrama was just by the side of the Ganges, so they would also come and take darśana of him and give praṇāmīs. There was one devotee called Ananta Deva who was in charge of collecting that praṇāmī. One man gave 25 paisā, which was quite a lot of money in those days, and as is the common system, he wanted some change. He didn’t want to give it all, so he asked for some change. 

Vaṁśīdāsa was standing there at that time and became very angry saying, “Hari, Hari! This is stealing. If you give something to Mahāprabhu you can’t take anything back.” Then he told Ananta Deva not to give him any change. They supposed by that money to hold a big festival the next day and feed many people prasāda, but somehow or other at the end of the day all the money was stolen. 

Ananta Deva was lamenting that the money had been taken, but Vaṁśīdāsa said, “Why are you lamenting? Mahāprabhu has given it to somebody.” Then he continued, “When you shave, your hair goes away; but after some time it comes back again. In the same way, some money is gone, and after some time more will come back again.”

A girl, about seven or eight years old, would daily bring a pot of Ganges water for Vaṁśīdāsa. One time she brought it when there was a severe storm going on, so Vaṁśīdāsa told her not to go out again, but she did not listen and opened the door to leave. Vaṁśīdāsa immediately jumped up, and just as she was about to stand on the door-step he pulled her back inside the cottage. The next second a thunderbolt hit that very spot where she was about to step. Once there was a man suffering from colic.

He had such a severe pain in his stomach that he came outside the kuṭīra of Vaṁśīdāsa and lay there, expressing how he would rather die than live, as the pain was so severe. He was expecting that Vaṁśīdāsa, being a sādhu, would heal him. After three or four days like this Vaṁśīdāsa came and put a tulasī leaf on that man’s tongue, curing him immediately. He then got up and went home, being well once more. That man didn’t take food or drink the whole time he was outside Vaṁśīdāsa’ kuṭīra.

Naturally, not all kinds of people could go to Vaṁśīdāsa and stay patiently; only those who were devotees could appreciate him. Many people used to come to him, bringing bananas along with them. Vaṁśīdāsa would ask his sevaka to tie those bananas up, in the usual system, to the rafters of the roof (inside roof), where they could hang and ripen.

However, many rats used to come daily, digging a hole in the earth next to the hut, making a big pile of soil in their endeavors to come and eat those bananas, but Vaṁśīdāsa never harmed them. Sometimes, when Vaṁśīdāsa would see a rat, he would point at it and say: “āichora āra āichora” or “sāichora”, meaning “this is a thief,” and then point at Kṛṣṇa and say, “He is also a thief.”

His Deities

Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī had many Deities. These included Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, some big Gaura-Nitāi Deities, and Laḍḍū Gopāla. However, Vaṁśīdāsa never had any formal system of worship nor even any proper routine. There was no siṁhāsana or any proper arrangement. He would simply offer flowers at mid-day each day that he collected nearby, and also cook and offer only fried chick-peas. Vaṁśīdāsa’ mode of worship was simply to see the Deities, live with Them, and talk with Them, in a most intimate and informal manner.

He never changed Their dress, put Them to sleep, woke Them up, or anything like this. In winter, his Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities would have just a small cloth to cover Them, and even that was torn and dirty. His formal worship consisted of reciting a few Sanskrit stutis in the morning, and that was all. The worship of Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī was completely transcendental, being above all the rules and regulations; a form of worship not to be imitated or criticized by the neophyte.

Generally, Vaṁśīdāsa didn’t even know whether it was morning, afternoon, evening or night, as he was plunged in bhāva; so how is it possible for anyone to understand the mind of such a great soul and his relationship with the Deity? One time, a brahmacārī from the Gauḍīya Maṭha, who was a little bit mentally imbalanced, took the Gaura-Nitāi Deities from Vaṁśīdāsa Bābājī’s kuṭīra in Navadvīpa and brought Them to Māyāpura. When Sarasvatī Ṭhākura found out he exclaimed, “Sarvanāśa! Everything will be finished if you do not return the Deities immediately!”

Upon hearing this that brahmacārī took Them back straight away. That brahmacārī thought the Deities were not being worshipped properly, and thus felt justified in taking Them. He didn’t understand that Vaṁśīdāsa’ worship was bhāva-maya, or spontaneous and not according to the rules and regulations. The strict standard for Deity worship made Vaṁśīdāsa’ worship appear offensive, but actually his was on the highest platform of devotion.

Sometimes Vaṁśīdāsa would sit for hours talking to Gaura-Nitāi in his Mymensingh dialect, which was almost impossible for the people of Navadvīpa and other places to comprehend. Occasionally, when Vaṁśīdāsa was cooking, Gaurāṅga would complain to him: “I’m so hungry. Feed Me quickly!” to which he would reply, “Just wait, I’m still cooking.” But if Gaurāṅga was persistent he would tell Him, “You get outside. Go outside!” While returning to his āśrama one evening, and still at some distance away, Vaṁśīdāsa said, “Gaura-Nitāi, They are feeling hungry!” so he got Them some green begun (unripe eggplant).

When he reached his āśrama he cut that begun, put it inside a coconut husk with some water and a tulasī leaf, and offered it to Gaura-Nitāi, while he sang, in his Mymensingh dialect, an ārati song. All through this his voice quivered and his eyes were full of tears due to ecstasy. After the offering he ate that prasādam with great relish at the base of a tree.

One time Vaṁśīdāsa asked his servant, Ananta Viśvambhara dāsa: “Did you hear what Gaurāṅga was saying?” to which Ananta replied: “I could see that you were talking to Him, but I could not hear what He was saying to you.” So Vaṁśīdāsa answered, “He has told Vaṁśīdāsa, `You don’t go outside for begging for three days. Now you have become too old, so I will feed you.’” Vaṁśīdāsa continued, “This Gaurāṅga, He wants to serve me.” Then he went and fetched a stick and started threatening Gaurāṅga, “You don’t go outside for serving me! If You go outside I’ll break Your leg!”

Once Vaṁśīdāsa was given a gold chain, and he kept it for his Gaura-Nitāi Deities. One day, while Vaṁśīdāsa was out begging, that chain was stolen. On returning and seeing the chain missing, Vaṁśīdāsa asked Gaura-Nitāi, “Who have You given that chain to? Go to his house and bring it back.” The next morning he went out begging again and when he arrived home that evening he saw that the chain was still missing, so he went directly to the house of the thief himself.

Many people also followed him, as he was well known in Navadvīpa and they all came to know that the chain had been taken. The man whose house Vaṁśīdāsa went to denied he had stolen it. The people then became very angry saying, “Why has he come here. Why has Vaṁśīdāsa come here? There are so many houses in Navadvīpa town, so why has he come here?” They all concluded that he must be guilty, but still that man denied it. Finally the crowd threatened him: “Either you return that chain or we’ll break your whole house.” Upon hearing this that man immediately returned the chain.

Vaṁśīdāsa always carried his Laḍḍū Gopāla Deity in his right hand. Apart from this Laḍḍū Gopāla, some other Deities and some loincloth, that was all he possessed. In Purī he would call the waves: “Come here. Come here. My Gopāla will bathe!” He would then bathe Laḍḍū Gopāla in the sea. In Kharagpur one evening, Jyotiśekhara Prabhu heard Vaṁśīdāsa saying to Gopāla: “Gopāla, I shall show You some thieves.

There are so many thieves here.” Then he went to the big railway junction at Kharagpur, where he showed Gopāla some men stealing kerosene and oil from one goods train. Vaṁśīdāsa pointed out to Gopāla: “Just see Gopāla how they’re taking kerosene tins from the train. Now I’ll show You some more thieves,” and then they left.

Usually in Navadvīpa town he stayed on the road-side. He came to Purī on foot sometimes, rather than taking the train, staying under trees on the way. On Janmāṣṭamī he was in Baleshwar, a town in North Orissa. At midnight he said to Gopāla: “Last year I gave You some palm-fruit, this year I shall give You some mango. Gopāla, don’t be impatient, mango is coming to You.” Within ten minutes a brāhmaṇa teacher called Yogendra Mukherji arrived, explaining how he had just dreamt that a sādhu wanted a mango, so he went to the market and bought one. That brāhmaṇa was then told: “Yes, yes, you come. He said he wanted a mango.”

Vaṁśīdāsa was always plunged in bhāva and never spoke with anyone except his Deities and a few intimate devotees. With others he would not speak to them directly, even if they spoke to him, but would reply to them by talking to his Deities. One of the devotees whom Vaṁśīdāsa would speak to was his servant, but only occasionally would he talk to him.

He would often abuse this servant, calling him “hārāma-jādā”, which means “a big pig.” Another person whom Vaṁśīdāsa would speak to was one merchant who helped construct a two-story building in Navadvīpa for him to reside in. Vaṁśīdāsa knew what the motive was or what the mood was of everyone who came to see him. If he liked a person who had come and asked a question, he would answer through the mūrtis and not directly to that person’s face.

Once, one śānta Mahārāja came, carrying his tridaṇḍa. Vaṁśīdāsa inquired: “Who is this coming here? Who is this fellow carrying a daṇḍa? Daṇḍa must be carried by my Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, by my Prabhu Gaurāṅga.” This was of course said by him to his Deities. This incident occurred around 1942-1943, after the disappearance of Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Sometimes devotees would go to Vaṁśīdāsa with a question, but they might not express it to him directly: they wouldn’t say it out loud.

However, Vaṁśīdāsa would speak to Kṛṣṇa and answer that unspoken question. This would not always be the case. Someone might go to him and be totally ignored, but at other times Vaṁśīdāsa might have taken notice of that person and answer any questions through the Deities. Thus he was unpredictable, but whenever he did answer in this way people were convinced.