PLATE FOUR
“Passing along the beach, the devotees saw a fisherman approaching with his net over his shoulder. Laughing, crying, dancing and singing, he kept repeating the holy name, ‘Hari, Hari.’ Seeing the activities of the fisherman, everyone was astonished. Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, therefore, asked him for information. ‘My dear fisherman,’ he said, ‘why are you behaving like this? Have you seen someone hereabouts? What is the cause of your behavior? Please tell us.’ The fisherman replied, ‘I have not seen a single person here, but while casting my net in the water, I captured a dead body. I lifted it with great care, thinking it a big fish, but as soon as I saw that it was a corpse, great fear arose in my mind. As I tried to release the net I touched the body, and as soon as I touched it, a ghost entered my heart. I shivered in fear and shed tears. My voice faltered, and all the hairs on my person stood up. . . ’ Svarūpa Dāmodara said to the fisherman, ‘My dear sir, the person whom you are thinking a ghost is actually not a ghost but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because of ecstatic love, the Lord fell into the sea, and you have caught Him in your net and rescued Him.’ ” (pp.138-147)