Mādhavendra Purī

 

Information – This is the place where Madhavendra Puri initiated (Dikshadan) Advaita Acharya.

When Mādhavendra Purī arrived at the house of Advaita Ācārya in Śāntipura, the Ācārya became very pleased upon seeing the ecstatic love of Godhead manifest in Mādhavendra Purī. Advaita Ācārya begged to be initiated by Mādhavendra Purī. After initiating Him, Mādhavendra Purī started for South India.
(CC Madhya 4.110 – 4.111)

So similarly, as Kṛṣṇa says, this is called disciplic succession. Lord Caitanya, although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself, but He has accepted the disciplic succession from Kṛṣṇa. I have given you the process of disciplic succession: from Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā; from Brahmā, Nārada; from Nārada, Vyāsa; from Vyāsa, Madhva; from Madhva, Mādhavendra Purī; from Mādhavendra Purī, Īśvara Purī; from Īśvara Purī, Lord Caitanya. So evaṁ paramparā.
In the paramparā system in that disciplic succession, you will find no change. The original word is there. That is the thing. They are not foolish, to manufacture something new. What new? People are after something new manufactured by this tiny brain. What new you can manufacture? That is all nonsense. If you want really thing, then you have to take the old, the oldest. You cannot change anything. Can you change any law of the sun rising or sun setting? The old laws, they are going on, and you have to follow.
(661209 – Lecture CC Madhya 20.144-146 – New York)

Prabhupāda: This is a prayer by Mādhavendra Purī. (chuckling) He says that, “I am not going to do anything except serving Kṛṣṇa.” This Mādhavendra Purī was the grand–spiritual master of Lord Caitanya. Mādhavendra Purī‘s disciple, Īśvara Purī, and Īśvara Purī was accepted as spiritual master of Lord Caitanya. Nobody can become a spiritual master of the Supreme Lord, but in order to teach us that even the Lord, He also accepted a spiritual master. That is the system. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186).
Unless He shows us the way, people will say: “Oh, Lord Caitanya did not accept any spiritual master.” They can give example. But therefore Kṛṣṇa also accepted spiritual master.
This is the system. One has to. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12). One must accept a spiritual master if he at all wants to know the spiritual science. Without that, it is not possible. Kṛṣṇa science, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, cannot be developed without the assistance of a bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa. Naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim (SB 7.5.32). There are very, very, many, many instances.
(681216 – Lecture BG 02.46-62 – Los Angeles)

 Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, a great devotee and ācārya in the line of the devotees, says:

sandhyā-vandana bhadram astu bhavato bhoḥ snāna tubhyaṁ namo
bho devāḥ pitaraś ca tarpaṇa-vidhau nāhaṁ kṣamaḥ kṣamyatām
yatra kvāpi niṣadya yādava-kulottamasya kaṁsa-dviṣaḥ
smāraṁ smāram aghaṁ harāmi tad alaṁ manye kim anyena me.

“O Lord, in my prayers three times a day, all glory to You. Bathing, I offer my obeisances unto You. O demigods! O forefathers! Please excuse me for my inability to offer you my respects. Now wherever I sit, I can remember the great descendant of the Yadu dynasty [Kṛṣṇa], the enemy of Kaṁsa, and thereby I can free myself from all sinful bondage. I think this is sufficient for me.” Being obliged because of the loving affairs of Mādhavendra Purī, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appeared as the Gopāla Deity, and, accepting his service, He liberated the whole world.
(BG 2.52 purport)

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Nityānanda Prabhu to judge whether there was anyone within the world as fortunate as Mādhavendra Purī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Mādhavendra Purī was so fortunate that Kṛṣṇa personally appeared before him on the plea of delivering milk. Three times the Lord gave orders to Mādhavendra Purī in dreams. On account of Mādhavendra Purī, Lord Gopīnātha stole the pot of sweet rice. Thus He became famous as Kṣīra-corā [the thief who stole the sweet rice]. Mādhavendra Purī smeared the sandalwood pulp over the body of Gopīnātha, and in this way he was overpowered with love of Godhead. In the provinces of India governed by the Muslims, there was much inconvenience in traveling with sandalwood and camphor. Because of this, Mādhavendra Purī might have gotten into trouble. This became known to the Gopāla Deity. “The Lord is very merciful and attached to His devotees, so when Gopīnātha was covered with sandalwood pulp, Mādhavendra Purī’s labor became successful.” Caitanya Mahāprabhu placed the standard of Mādhavendra Purī’s intense love before Nityānanda Prabhu for judgment. “All his loving activities are uncommon,” Caitanya Mahāprabhu said. “Indeed, one is struck with wonder to hear of his activities.” Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “Śrī Mādhavendra Purī used to remain alone. He was completely renounced and always very silent. He was uninterested in everything material, and for fear of talking about mundane things, he always lived without a companion. After receiving the transcendental orders of Gopāla, this great personality traveled thousands of miles just to collect sandalwood by begging. Although Mādhavendra Purī was hungry, he would not beg food to eat. This renounced person carried a load of sandalwood for the sake of Śrī Gopāla. Without considering his personal comforts, Mādhavendra Purī carried one maund [about eighty-two pounds] of sandalwood and twenty tolās [about eight ounces] of camphor to smear over the body of Gopāla. This transcendental pleasure was sufficient for him.
(CC Madhya 4.171 – 4.182)

Just like there is one very nice example, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. Mādhavendra Purī was going to . . . from this Vṛndāvana. Mādhavendra Purī. Perhaps you do not know the story of Mādhavendra Purī. Mādhavendra Purī was a great devotee in this Gauḍīya-sampradāya, and in this Govardhana there was Gopāla, I mean to say, covered by dirty and jungles and trees. So the Gopāla . . . when Mādhavendra Purī was in Vṛndāvana, the Gopāla in dream expressed Himself, “Mādhavendra Purī, 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 Mādhavendra Purī, with the help of villagers, he excavated the earth and found this Gopāla mūrti. And this Gopāla mūrti 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, Mādhavendra Purī 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 Jagannātha Purī and smear all over the body the pulp of sandalwood, then I shall be happy.”
So Mādhavendra Purī was very old man at that time, and it is order of Gopālajī, so he started for Jagannātha Purī. On the way there is a Gopīnātha temple in Orissa, on the border of Orissa and Bengal in the district of Dant . . . dantarn, that is called Dantan. So he stayed there overnight and he saw that the Gopāla . . . na . . . Gopīnāthajī was offered kṣīra, seven pots of kṣīra. So Mādhavendra Purī thought within himself, “If I could taste little kṣīra, then I would also make such kṣīra to offer my Gopāla in Vṛndāvana.”
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. You see? Kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs, they sometimes do that. Sometimes they take away something before offering to the Deity. These are great offenses.
So Mādhavendra Purī 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 Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, just to pass over the night, then they then proceed toward Jagannātha Purī. So at night the Deity, Gopīnātha, was asking the pūjārī, the priest, that “I have kept one pot of kṣīra behind My back garment,” pitavastra. Pitavastra. “You take this pot of kṣīra, condensed milk, to Mādhavendra Purī—he is sitting underneath a tree—and offer him.”
So the pūjārī wake up, and actually when he opened the door of the Deity room, he found that pot of kṣīra. So he could understand that “This Mādhavendra Purī is not an ordinary devotee, he . . . he is a great devotee; otherwise how the Lord has stolen this pot for him?” (laughter) Since then, that Gopīnātha is famous as Kṣīra-corā Gopīnātha: Kṣīra-corā Gopīnātha, the Gopīnātha who stole the kṣīra for His devotee. So He is known as thief, Kṣīra-corā. He is famous as a great thief. Still people go to see Him, how nice this thief is.
(711116 – Lecture SB 04.14.14 – Delhi)

Whatever position one may have, if he is fully conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can become a bona fide spiritual master, initiator or teacher of the science. In other words, one can become a bona fide spiritual master if he has sufficient knowledge of the science of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The position does not depend on a particular position in society or on birth. This is the conclusion of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is in accordance with the Vedic injunctions. On the strength of this conclusion, Lord Caitanya, previously known as Viśvambhara, accepted a spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, who was a sannyāsī. Similarly, Lord Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Ācārya also accepted another sannyāsī as their spiritual master, Mādhavendra Purī. This Mādhavendra Purī is also known as Lakṣmīpati Tīrtha.
(TLC 31)

For further Reading please refer to :
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta – Madhya-līlā, Chapter 4: Śrī Mādhavendra Puri’s Devotional Service