Once the Seniour Vaisnava, Vallabhacarya, gave critical advice to Sri Rupa Gosvami on his writing. Although much younger than the venerable Vallabha, Sri Jiva brazenly spoke in defense of his guru. Sri Rupa Gosvami scolded Sri Jiva telling him to leave Vrndavana. Living in an abandoned crocodile hole in Nanda Ghat (45 minutes from Sri Rupa’s bhajana kutira), Sri Jiva Gosvami began fasting. He subsisted on wheat flour, which he begged, mixed with Yamuna water. Seeing his strict self denial, Sanatana Gosvami brought him back to the service of Sri Rupa Gosvami.
Srila Prabhupada once commented on this “guru disciple pastime.” “Sri Rupa Gosvami cast out Jiva Gosvami to teach us, the devotees of today, a lesson. It was not done to teach or punish Sri Jiva Gosvami, who is a perfectly liberated, eternal associate of Lord Krsna. Rupa Gosvami sent Jiva Gosvami out of Vrndavana to teach all jivas what he wrote in Upadesamrta: vaco vegam mansah krodah vegam, jihva vegam... At all times, a devotee should control his tongue, his speech, and always remain humble, trnad api sunicena.”
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