Chapter Summary
The fourth chapter is summarized by Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura in his Amá¹›ta-pravÄha-bhÄá¹£ya as follows. ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« came alone from MathurÄ to JagannÄtha PurÄ« to see Lord Caitanya. Because of bathing in bad water and not getting enough food every day while traveling on the path through JhÄrikhaṇá¸a (Jharkhand) Forest, he developed a disease that made his body itch. Suffering greatly from this itching, he resolved that in the presence of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu he would throw himself under the wheel of JagannÄtha’s car and in this way commit suicide.When SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« came to JagannÄtha PurÄ«, he stayed under the care of HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura for some time, and ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was very happy to see him. The Lord informed SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« about the death of his younger brother Anupama, who had great faith in the lotus feet of Lord RÄmacandra. One day ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu said to SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«, “Your decision to commit suicide is the result of the mode of ignorance. One cannot get love of God simply by committing suicide. You have already dedicated your life and body to My service; therefore your body does not belong to you, nor do you have any right to commit suicide. I have to execute many devotional services through your body. I want you to preach the cult of devotional service and go to Vá¹›ndÄvana to excavate the lost holy places.†After having thus spoken, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu left, and HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura and SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« had many talks about this subject.One day SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« was summoned by ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who wanted him to come to YameÅ›vara-á¹oá¹Ä. SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« reached the Lord through the path along the beach by the sea. When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu asked SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« which way he had come, SanÄtana replied, “Many servitors of Lord JagannÄtha come and go on the path by the Siá¹ha-dvÄra gate of the JagannÄtha temple. Therefore, I did not go by that path, but instead went by the beach.†SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« did not realize that there were burning blisters on his feet because of the heat of the sand. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was pleased to hear about SanÄtana GosvÄmī’s great respect for the temple of Lord ÅšrÄ« JagannÄtha.Because his disease produced wet sores on his body, SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« used to avoid embracing ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, but nevertheless the Lord would embrace him by force. This made SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« very unhappy, and therefore he consulted JagadÄnanda Paṇá¸ita about what he should do. JagadÄnanda advised him to return to Vá¹›ndÄvana after the car festival of JagannÄtha, but when ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu heard about this instruction, He chastised JagadÄnanda Paṇá¸ita and reminded him that SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« was senior to him and also more learned. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu informed SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« that because SanÄtana was a pure devotee, the Lord was never inconvenienced by his bodily condition. Because the Lord was a sannyÄsÄ«, He did not consider one body better than another. The Lord also informed him that He was maintaining SanÄtana and the other devotees just like a father. Therefore the moisture oozing from SanÄtana’s itching skin did not affect the Lord at all. After speaking with SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« in this way, the Lord again embraced him, and after this embrace, SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« became free from the disease. The Lord ordered SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« to stay with Him for that year, and the next year, after seeing the Ratha-yÄtrÄ festival, he left Puruá¹£ottama-ká¹£etra and returned to Vá¹›ndÄvana.After meeting ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« also returned to Bengal, where he remained for one year. Whatever money he owned, he distributed among his relatives, the brÄhmaṇas and the temples. In this way he completely retired and returned to Vá¹›ndÄvana to meet SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«.After narrating these incidents, KṛṣṇadÄsa KavirÄja GosvÄmÄ« has given a list of the main books of SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«, ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« and JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ«.
