58 THE PATH OF PERFECTION Moderation in Yoga 59

After some time, however, the feasts came to an end. Lord. “Oh, no? Why do you say it’s not fit for Me? It’s Lord Jagan-
Caitanya Mahaprabhu then inquired from His secretary, Svaripa natha’s prasada!”
Damodara, ‘“‘Nowadays I don’t receive any invitations from Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu enacted this pastime just to dis-
Raghunatha. What has happened?” courage Raghunatha from thinking, ‘‘I am eating this miserable,
‘That is because Raghunatha has stopped accepting his rejected rice.”” Through the Lord’s encouragement, Raghunatha
father’s money.” dasa Gosvami reduced his daily quantity of food until he was
“Oh, that’s very nice,’ Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. finally eating only one pat of butter every other day. And every
‘‘Raghunatha was thinking, ‘Although I have renounced day he was also bowing down hundreds of times and constantly
everything, I am still enjoying my father’s money. This is hypo- chanting the holy names. Sarikhyd-piirvaka-nama-gana-natibhih
critical.” Therefore he has told the servants to go home and has kalavasani-krtau.
refused the money.” Although this is an excellent example of minimizing all ma-
**So how is he living?’’ Caitanya Mahaprabhu inquired. terial necessities, we should not try to imitate it. It is not possible
“Oh, he’s. standing on the steps of the Jagannatha temple, and for an ordinary man to imitate Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, who
when the priests pass him on their way home, they offer him some was one of the six Gosvamis, a highly elevated associate of Lord
prasada. In this way, he is satisfied.” Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. Each one of the six Gosvamis dis-
“This is very nice,’ Caitanya Mahaprabhu commented. played a unique example of how one can advance in Krsna con-
Regularly going to the Jagannatha temple, Lord Caitanya sciousness, but it is not our duty to imitate them. We should just
Mah4prabhu would see Raghunatha standing on the steps. After a try to follow, as far as possible, in their footsteps. If we im-
few days, however, He no longer saw him there. Therefore the mediately try to become like Raghunatha dasa Gosvami by imitat-
Lord commented to His secretary, ‘‘I no longer see Raghunatha ing him, we are sure to fail, and whatever progress we have made
standing on the temple steps.”” will be defeated. Therefore the Lord says (Bg. 6.16) that there is
‘**He has given that up,’ Svaripa Damodara explained. ‘‘He no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi if one eats too much or too
was thinking, ‘Oh, I am standing here just like a prostitute, wait- little.
‘ing for someone to come and give me food. No. I don’t like this The same moderation applies to sleep. Presently I may be
at all.”” sleeping ten hours a day, but if I can keep myself fit by sleeping
‘That is very nice,” Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘‘but how is five hours, why sleep ten? As far as the body is concerned, there
he eating?” are four demands—eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. The
‘*Every day he is collecting some rejected rice from the kitchen problem with modern civilization is that it is trying to increase
and is eating that.” these demands, but they should be decreased instead. Eat what we
To encourage Raghunatha, Caitanya Mahaprabhu one day need, and sleep when we need, and our health will be excellent.
visited him. ‘‘Raghunatha,”’ the Lord said, ‘‘I hear that you are There is no question of artificial imitation.
eating very palatable food. Why are you not inviting Me?” And what is the result obtained by one who is temperate in his
Raghunatha did not reply, but the Lord quickly found the place habits?
where he kept the rice, and the Lord immediately took some and yada viniyatam cittam
began to eat it. atmany evavatisthate
‘‘Dear Lord,” Raghunatha implored, ‘‘please do not eat this. It nisprhah sarva-kamebhyo
is not fit for You.”’ yukta ity ucyate tada
