Stories of Saints and Scriptures that I remember learning at Barsana Dham.

1. Shree Nityanand Das
2. Crocodile Gratitude

1. Shree Nityanand Das
One early morning Nityananddas, drowned in the leela bliss of God's love, was approached by a babaji who told him, "At midnight tonight your Spiritual Master will disappear. He has called to see you." Nityananddas thought, that this seemed like the act of maya shakti to distract him from experiencing the bliss of his Beloved's leelas. He did not go.

Nityananddas ignored the Divine instructions of his Guru out of being desirous for his devotional experience. That same night at midnight, Nityananddas's devotional feelings of the leelas and the Divine name of Shree Krishn ceased. His heart was overcome by darkness.

Bewildered, he left for his Spiritual Master's ashram where he found that his Master had indeed disappeared. Struck with a feeling of extreme distress, Nityananddas' heart began to burn in the fire of grief. He requested an explanation from the older mahatmas who told him "Even though a disciple may attain a high stage in his devotion, but if he neglects the advice of his Spiritual Master and abandons the refuge of his lotus feet, then this is what happens to him. The lotus feet of the Spiritual Master are the gateway which reveal the Grace of God. You should go to a secluded area and worship your Spiritual Master.

Nityananddas did the worship for a year. At the end of that year his Guru appeared before him. Nityananddas bowed his head to the lotus feet of his Guru. Tears were flowing from his Guru's eyes and he said, "My son! You did not come at that time, so what shall I do now?".

Saying this he disappeared. Nityananddas fell on the ground. A little ray of hope which sparked his heart began to fade. Nevertheless, he kept the fading ray of hope alive by remembering his Guru's form and chanting the Divine name.

It so happened that while doing parikrama of Govardhan hill, Advaitdas Babaji heard Nityananddas chanting the Divine name and came to a very old hut in which Nityananddas was lovingly singing the Divine name of Shree Krishn.

Nityananddas Baba loudly repeated the Divine name one hundred thousand times daily and slept only for two hours every night. One day in Kartic Mas (8th month of the Hindu calendar), Nityananddas became Divinely absorbed in the Bliss of the loving and charming leelas of Shree Krishn and entered into the raas leela.

Even if a person equals the creator Brahma in knowledge, or Lord Shankar in renunciation, still he cannot cross the ocean of maya without a true Spiritual Master.

2. "Crocodile Gratitude" (A story from the panchantantra)
Once there was a brahman who took a pilgrimage to the Ganges. His name was Astika. One morning during his journey when he entered a river for his bath a crocodile came up to him and asked where he was bound. When he heard that the brahman was going on pilgrimage to Kashi, the crocodile at once begged him to carry him to the banks of the Ganges, where he hoped to be more comfortable; for when his present abode ran dry in the hot weather he suffered cruelly. Astika took pity on the crocodile, and put him in his bag, hoisted him on his shoulders, and went on.

When they reached the Ganges, Astika opened the bag and told the crocodile that he was free to enter the water. The crocodile said that he was so exhausted by the journey of so many days in the heat of the sun, that he could hardly drag himself to the water and asked to be carried a little further. Suspecting nothing, the brahman consented and put him in the shallow water, wherein the crocodile seized him and tried to drag him under.

Terrified, and at the same time furious at such treachery, Astika exclaimed, "Villain! Is it thus that you return evil for good? Is this the kind of virtue you practice? Is this the gratitude that I am to expect for the good I did you?"

"What do you mean by virtue and gratitude ?" replied the crocodile. "Today virtue and gratitude are to devour those who feed us and do us good."

"At any rate, desist from your wickedness for a while," said the brahman, "and we will see if others approve of these principles. Let us call in arbitrators, and if we can find three to approve, I will agree and you shall devour me."

The crocodile consented and they went first to a mango tree which grew on the bank and Astika asked him if it is lawful to return evil for good.

"I do not know whether it is lawful or not" replied the mango tree, "but I do know that is exactly how men behave to me, men just like you. I satisfy their hunger with my fruit. I keep off the sun with my cool branches; but when these services cease through old age or accident, they forget all that I did for them in the past, lop off my branches, and finally uproot me. Whence I gather that virtue as understood by men is to destroy those who nourish them."

Then, the brahman and the crocodile went to an old cow which was grazing alone on the bank to whom they put the same question.

"Don't talk to me of virtue," said the cow. "Virtue today is to devour those who sustain you, as I know too well by unhappy experience. I have done good service to man: I have ploughed the fields, given him calves, yielded him my milk; and now that I am old, he casts me off."

The fate of the brahman now hung upon the decision of the third judge. They next saw a jackal, and the brahman again put the same question. Before replying the jackal asked for the details of the dispute, and when he had heard the story he burst out laughing and seemed to favor the crocodile.

"Before giving my decision," he said, "I should like to see how you managed the journey together." So the unsuspecting crocodile got into the bag, and Astika showed how he carried his opponent to the place.

While the crocodile was in the bag, the jackal told Astika to follow him with his load and led the way to a solitary spot at some distance from the river. There he told him to put down the bag and the Jackal killed the crocodile.

The jackal then said to the brahman, "Have you not learned wisdom from your danger? Don't you know that you should never become friendly with the wicked?"

Afterwards, Astika, having finished his pilgrimage, returned safely to his village.