Once, as Śrī Bihārī dāsjī was carrying Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja on a pathway, a devotee gave Bābājī Mahārāja one rupee and Bābājī Mahārāja gave it to Bihārīdāsa to keep. Two or three miles ahead, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja suddenly told Bihārī Dāsa to return it. After arriving at his Kuṭī, he called that devotee and gave him back the rupee, saying, “Brother, keep your rupee, I heard that you have many rupees. I don’t know how you can tolerate the biting sting of so many rupees, I am not able to tolerate the sting of even one rupee.”Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s Instructions to Those Unqualified for the Path of RāgaŚrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja always gave instructions to perform hari-bhajana through one’s body, mind, and words. Some people among those with the desire to be his followers, taking loin cloth, or the dress of a bābājī, thought that they would now not have to perform fatiguing physical work as householders do, for they were now bheka-dhārīs, (wearing the dress of renunciation). Consequently, they simply circulated their beads without care, trying to complete their regulated number of rounds by any means, thinking that then their daily activities would be finished. However, Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja mercifully engaged all those nāma-āparādhis in exhausting physical activities for the service of Kṛṣṇa. Without keeping one’s senses absorbed in the service of Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s names will not manifest on the tongue, and one will not get the qualification to perform Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s names. For as long as one’s senses are present with the body and their sense objects, as well as those persons related to the body, until then the living entity will be attached to sense enjoyment, this is certain. “I am Bhagavān’s servant”— situated in this mood, one will have possessiveness towards the objects related to Bhagavān, thus one will engage his own body and the objects related to the body in the service of Bhagavān and the devotees, and the tendency of love and possessiveness will be towards them. Seeing the unperfected and foolish persons laziness in regards to Śrī Kṛṣṇa anuśīlana, for they were busily engaged in their own sense enjoyment, and to stop them from proceeding on the pathway to hell, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja engaged them in honest hari-bhajana, in such a way that finally their consciousness would be cleansed and they would obtain the qualification to perform śrī-kṛṣṇa-anuśīlana.Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Meets Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī MahārājaIn the month of śrāvaṇa 1880, when Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja was staying in the kuñja of Śrī Rūpa dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura came to the kuñja of Śrī Rādhā Ramaṇa Vasu, with the intent of having daṛśana of Śrīdhāma Vṛndāvana. When Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was searching for some rare scriptures, he came to the kuñja of Śrī Rūpa dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, and had darśana of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja for the first time. The pastime of the eternal vrajavāsī guru and disciple meeting together in the Vraja of this world was manifest. In this place, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura authored the ‘dāśa ślokī’ in the name of Śrī Nimbāditya.Along with hearing the powerful hari-kathā of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura realized him to be a great bhajanānandī-mahāpuruṣa, and offered himself for all time at his lotus feet. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura realized that the actual result of his pilgrimage had been obtained:“tīrtha-phala sādhu saṅga, sādhu saṅge antaraṅga, śrī kṛṣṇa bhajana manohara”[The actual result of going to the holy places is to obtain sādhu-saṅga, because in sadhu-saṅga one gets ‘antaraṅga,’ or the opportunity of receiving confidential instructions for Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhajana, which steal the mind.]Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s travel to Śrīdhāma Vṛndāvana was successful. In the same way that Śrīman Mahāprabhu spoke the feelings of His heart when He had darśana of Śrī Īśvarapurī in Gayā, saying:prabhu bale gayā yātrā saphala āmārayatra kṣane dekhilāṅ caraṇa tomārasaṁsāra-samudra haite uddhāraha moreeī āmi deha samarpilāṅ tomārekṛṣṇa-pāda-padmera amṛta-rasa pānaāmāre karāo tumi ei cāhi dānaŚrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi 17.50-52Receiving the darṣana of Śrī Īśvara Purī’s lotus feet, Śrī Gaursundara said, “That moment I obtained the darśana of your beautiful lotus feet, My pilgrimage to Gayā was successful. Please save Me from the ocean of material existence, I have offered My body unto you! Please make Me drink the transcendental nectar of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet; this is all I beg from you!”In this same way, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s mind became agitated, and prayers appeared on his tongue. Seeing a person so learned and well versed in the scriptures, with such a powerful natural enthusiasm to preach śrī-nāma-saṇkīrtana as practiced and preached by Śrīman Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahāśaya was pleased, and encouraged Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura to more widely and strongly preach śrī-gaura-nāma, śrī-gaura-dhāma and śrī-gaura-kāma (Gaura’s desires) throughout the world.Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura returned from Śrī Vṛndavān and began preaching extensively to fulfill the heart’s desire of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahāśaya. If one reads the autobiography of Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda, one will understand from that time how he greatly preached the holy name, pure bhakti, and gave many eloquent lectures related to dharma in many places throughout Bengal.