A dervish was proceeding to enter a royal palace, assuming it to be an inn, when the gatekeeper stopped him and asked in a stern voice, \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dervish was somewhat taken aback, but recovered the next moment and replied, \u201cWhy, I am going to the inn; why are you stopping me?\u201d In response he was told that it was not an inn, but the Baadshah\u2019s palace. The dervish would not have it. He began to insist that it was not a palace, just an inn. As this argument ensued, many people gathered, all trying to get the dervish to understand his mistake. But the dervish refused to admit to any error whatsoever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As this commotion carried on, the Baadshah himself arrived at the gate. He inquired as to the cause of the debate and, upon being informed, called the dervish over to him and said, \u201cYou are indeed mistaken; this palace is not a roadhouse. It is my royal palace. I am the Baadshah. But you can agree to be my guest in the royal palace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dervish was not such a simple person. He said, \u201cI will not agree to be a king\u2019s guest, but I will stay in this palace. Because it\u2019s an inn!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Baadshah understood he was more or less crazy and ordered the horse-drawn carriage to move along, at which point the dervish said with great keenness, \u201cIf you don\u2019t mind, I will explain to you why I call this palace an inn.\u201d The Baadshah was rather amused and agreed to hear him out, so the dervish first asked the Baadshah a question: \u201cWho built this palace?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Baadshah responded, \u201cOne of my ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dervish said, \u201cOkay, after him, who had possession of this palace?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnother of my ancestors who came after him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay, and who was its last owner?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhose is it now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho will be its owner after you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy son, then my grandson, and after that, my great-grandchildren and other descendants will enjoy this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the dervish said, \u201cSo your grandfather and ancestors have been enjoying its occupancy, and after you, your sons and grandsons, etc., will continue to do so?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Baadshah nodded in agreement, the dervish said, \u201cSo is this palace the inn I said it was or not?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Baadshah was somewhat irked and leaned forward intently, so the dervish, once again in a humble mood, said, \u201cI have taken some of your time, but please grant me a bit more\u2014I have one more question to ask you. What do you understand the word \u2018inn\u2019 to mean?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Baadshah, \u201cWhat everyone understands is what I understand it to mean. An inn is a place where travelers come to stay for a few days before moving on, then new travelers come, stay, and go; no one stays permanently. That\u2019s what you call an inn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dervish said, \u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right,\u201d and began to explain his reasoning: \u201cFirst there was one person who lived in this palace, then another person, and after him yet another. In this way, one person after another has lived here and now you are here. You too will not stay forever. You too will go, and afterwards another person, who is your son, will be here, and after him, yet another person will come. Thus this palace is being passed down from one hand to another. Just as no one gets to stay in an inn forever, no one is able to stay in this palace forever. Only its occupancy has changed and will continue to change. Call this palace a king\u2019s palace or whatever you like, but from what I reckon, it\u2019s an inn.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Baadshah realized what the dervish was saying was true and, with great honor, had him agree to be a guest there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now we ought to turn our attention to ourselves. We read our deed: \u201cSons and grandsons, etc., will continue pass on or sell the property,\u201d and we become so delighted to be the proprietors of a permanent settlement; sometimes we even become arrogant about it. But when we read what the dervish said, it occurs to us that no matter how much of a permanent situation we have rights to in this world, it will not be ours forever. Perhaps today, or if not, then tomorrow, or in several days, several months, or several years, we will have to leave it. No matter how much land, wealth, etc., we own, we live only in a traveler\u2019s inn. Our permanent home is not in this world. We are but travelers here. We think this body to be \u201cI\u201d and in connection with our body, we think: \u201cThis is my house. That is my land. That is my wealth. She is my wife. He is my son.\u201d We are spending our days with all this fleeting \u201cI\u201d and \u201cmy\u201d. We are not inquiring about the real, eternal \u201cI\u201d. Is this indication of our intelligence? Now it is necessary to discuss how this delusion can be dispelled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jahnu-dv\u012bpa Vivara\u1e47a<\/strong> | Description of Jahnu-dv\u012bpa<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In apabhra\u1e41\u015ba <\/em>dialect, this place is called J\u0101n-nagar. This place is Bhadravana, one of the twelve forests of the V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana pastimes. Vidy\u0101-nagara is part of this island. It is said that one day Jahnu Muni was sitting in this place on the banks of the Ga\u1e45g\u0101 performing his ablutions when Bh\u0101g\u012brath\u012b [the Ga\u1e45g\u0101] swept away his cottage. Seeing this, Jahnu Muni became furious. He drank up the whole Ga\u1e45g\u0101 in one sip. Meanwhile, Bhag\u012bratha, having performed great austerities, had been leading Ga\u1e45g\u0101 Dev\u012b forth to deliver his ancestors. When he arrived in this place and no longer saw Ga\u1e45g\u0101 Dev\u012b, Bhag\u012bratha\u2019s heart became extremely anxious. Unable to determine why Ga\u1e45g\u0101 Dev\u012b had disappeared, he was fraught with worry. After some time, he came upon Jahnu Muni and unravelled the mystery of Ga\u1e45g\u0101\u2019s disappearance, so he stayed there and began serving Jahnu Muni. In the end, the muni<\/em> was satisfied and released the Ga\u1e45g\u0101 from within his limbs. From then on, another of Ga\u1e45g\u0101\u2019s names was J\u0101hnav\u012b. Some time after this incident, Ga\u1e45g\u0101\u2019s son, one of the Twelve Mah\u0101janas, Bh\u012b\u1e63ma, came to live with his maternal grandfather Jahnu and learned the teachings of bhagavad-dharma<\/em> [devotion to Bhagav\u0101n]. These were the same dharma-tattva <\/em>[religious truths] he spoke when questioned by Yudhi\u1e63\u1e6dhira. In the \u015a\u0101nti Parva<\/em> of the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata<\/em>, within the Vi\u1e63\u1e47u-sahasra-n\u0101ma-stotra<\/em>, it is said that one day Yudhi\u1e63\u1e6dhira inquired of Bh\u012b\u1e63ma, \u201cO Brahman, we see mention of many types of dharma<\/em> in the world. Which of these dharmas<\/em> is the greatest? Which of these dharmas<\/em> will yield the result of performing all types of dharma<\/em>? <\/em>You know the truths of dharma<\/em>. You are well-acquainted with all these matters. The various opinions of variou sages have confused my heart. Kindly instruct me on the subject of dharma-tattva<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to this, Bh\u012b\u1e63madeva taught him that only devotional worship of \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and His devotees is dharma<\/em>. This place is the seat of all knowledge. All the \u1e5b\u1e63\u012bs<\/em> of all the ages achieved various types of knowledge from this place. The \u015arutis themselves worshipped \u015ar\u012b Gaura in this place for a long time. Not far from here is Vidy\u0101nagara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vidy\u0101nagara<\/strong>\u2014B\u1e5bhaspati incarnated in \u015ar\u012b Gaur\u0101\u1e45ga\u2019s pastimes as V\u0101sudeva S\u0101rvabhauma and established a school in Vidy\u0101nagara, and by the grace of Gaurasundara, he abandoned the sport of ignorance [avidy\u0101-vil\u0101sa<\/em>] and took shelter of para-vidy\u0101<\/em> \u015buddha-bhakti<\/em> [the supreme knowledge of pure devotion]. Some say the famous naiy\u0101yika<\/em> [logician] Raghun\u0101tha \u015airoma\u1e47i, author of D\u012bdhiti<\/em>, was the student of this S\u0101rvabhauma Bha\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101c\u0101rya. From reading \u015ar\u012b Caitanya-bh\u0101gavata<\/em>, we learn that during Mah\u0101prabhu\u2019s manifest presence, if one wanted to go to this place, one had to pass along the bank of the Ga\u1e45g\u0101 through a thick jungle of thorns, brush, and bamboo and cross the Ga\u1e45g\u0101 near J\u0101n-nagara. When \u015ar\u012bman Mah\u0101prabhu came to Vidy\u0101nagara to the house of S\u0101rvabhauma\u2019s father Mahe\u015bvara Vi\u015b\u0101rada, the inhabitants of the nagara<\/em> went from Ga\u1e45g\u0101-nagara, along the banks of the Ga\u1e45g\u0101, through the dense jungle region full of thorns and prickles and crossed one of Ga\u1e45g\u0101\u2019s branches near J\u0101n-nagara to have dar\u015bana <\/em>of \u015ar\u012bman Mah\u0101prabhu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n