Shri Haridas ji served as the diwan of the Nawab Shuja-ul-Mulk Khubadar. Despite his high station, he lived with utter simplicity, taking his bhojanam by simply asking for milk and rice.
Hearing of the bhakti of Shri Bhagvant ji, he was filled with enthusiasm and eagerness to witness it for himself. And when he learned that Shri Guru Bhagavan was arriving, the premananda that arose in him could not be contained within his body.
He turned to his dharmpatni: 'Tell me, in what manner should we offer bhenta and puja to Shri Guru ji?'
That devoted wife answered without hesitation: 'You and I should each keep only one dhoti. Everything else, all the wealth, the ornaments, every possession of the house, offer it all as bhenta.'
Shri Bhagvant ji heard those words and his joy overflowed. 'You alone have truly known sachchi bhakti,' he said. 'Your words are supremely dear to me.' Tears of prema streamed from his eyes.
When this news reached Shri Gusain ji, he understood the depth of their resolve. He turned back from the journey and returned to Shri Vrindavan, supremely pleased with the prema-pana of his shishya.
The World's Court and the Lord's Court
Shri Haridas Ji served as diwan under the Nawab, managing revenues and moving among those who held worldly power. Yet he was also the adhikari of Shri Govinddev Ji's temple in Vrindavan, the custodian of the very deity that Shri Rupa Goswami had recovered from the sacred earth. He held both callings at once, and neither weakened the other. His food was milk and rice, taken simply by asking. The outer seat of governance and the inner seat of bhakti were occupied by the same quiet man. The teaching here is not about renouncing the world but about remaining untouched by it. Shri Haridas Ji shows us that a seeker can walk through the corridors of power and still belong entirely to the Lord. The question is not what work we do but which court we have truly given our heart to.
Bhaktamal, tika of Shri Priyadas Ji
Ask Your Partner Before You Offer
When news came that a great guru was approaching, Shri Haridas Ji did not decide alone what bhenta to offer. He turned to his dharmpatni and asked her sincerely: how should we honor Shri Guru Ji? What is fitting? This question is itself a teaching. He did not rely on convention or calculate what was appropriate for a diwan's household. He turned to his wife as an equal partner in dharma, in the ancient understanding that the puja of a home, its auspiciousness and its giving, belongs to both. The seeker who consults, who makes space for another's wisdom before acting, demonstrates a humility that is already close to the divine. Shri Haridas Ji's question opened the door for an answer that would move a guru to tears.
True Renunciation Is Already Complete Before It Is Spoken
His dharmpatni's answer was direct: keep one dhoti each; offer everything else to Shri Guru Ji. She named the sacrifice fully, without hesitation or regret. She knew precisely what she held, and she released it without flinching. What makes this extraordinary is not the act but the condition behind it. She had already arrived, long before this moment, at that inner place where possessions have been returned to the Beloved in the silence of the heart. The spoken bhenta was only the outward form of a renunciation already lived. Shri Bhagvant Ji, hearing her words, said: you alone have truly known sachchi bhakti, real devotion, what it actually is. Tears of prema flowed from his eyes. True renunciation does not feel like loss. It feels like recognition.
Bhaktamal, tika of Shri Priyadas Ji
The Guru Turns Back Satisfied
Shri Gusain Ji, the guru, was still on the road when word reached him of what Shri Haridas Ji's household had resolved. He did not need to witness it in person. He heard the nature of their resolve, understood it completely, and turned back to Vrindavan, satisfied. This detail carries a precise teaching. The guru does not need a performance or a presentation. He does not need the bhenta to be physically received. What he recognizes is the sincerity of the intention, the quality of the inner turning. When a disciple has already arrived at the destination, the guru's journey there becomes unnecessary. The teaching has been received in the very act of the offering being proposed. For the seeker, this is both an encouragement and a question: has your resolve already been made in the depth of the heart, before any outer occasion demands it?
Bhaktamal, tika of Shri Priyadas Ji
When the Brajvasi Steals From You, Rejoice
The Bhaktamal records a striking moment from Shri Bhagvant Ji's life, connected to this same household of bhakti. A Brajvasi had stolen goods and was imprisoned. Shri Bhagvant Ji interceded and had him released. Then, on another occasion, a Brajvasi entered Shri Bhagvant Ji's own home and took everything. Rather than grieving, Shri Bhagvant Ji was filled with joy. His reasoning was simple and radical: the thief was a Brajvasi, one who belonged to Vrindavan, to the lila-ground of the Lord. To lose one's things to such a person was not misfortune but a kind of grace. His mind was colored through with love, his eyes held the image of his Beloved, and no outer circumstance could disturb that inner color. For the seeker, this teaches that genuine bhakti transforms the meaning of every event. What looks like loss from outside is experience as richness from within.
Hindi text from OCR scan (Khemraj Shrikrishnadas Prakashan, CC0). May contain errors.