Initiating the wild elephant
In those days a huge wild elephant was devastating Vanapur. The inhabitants, including Ahmadi Beg, were terrified that they would be killed. Irritated by Syamananda Prabhu’s bright face, attractive personality, manners befitting a great Vaisnava, uncommon pastimes and popularity, Ahmadi Beg made a plot to humiliate him. In the presence of several kings and landlords he stated that if Rasikananda could overpower that violent elephant, he (Ahmadi Beg) would accept him as Narayana and return all the usurped land and wealth.
When Rasikananda Prabhu received this information he went to meet Ahmadi Beg, and by chance took the same road through which that wild elephant was travelling. Seeing the elephant, those following Rasikananda fled to a secure place to save their lives leaving him alone there, but he was not at all scared and kept chanting Sri Hari Nama on his beads. Trumpeting in a frightening way, the elephant ran towards Rasikananda at full speed but upon reaching him stood silently with its trunk raised. Rasikananda Prabhu gave many instructions to the elephant, who listened very attentively and started shedding tears, bowing down again and again. Rasikananda initiated him by murmuring the Hari Nama Maha-mantra in his ear and named him Gopala Dasa.
Subsequently, wearing Tulasi beads around its neck, the elephant Gopala Dasa became a great servant of sadhus and Vaisnavas.
Ahmadi Beg saw the miracle with his own eyes from the top of his palace. Realizing the greatness of Rasikananda Prabhu, he became very afraid on account of his sinful deeds and took shelter at his lotus feet. He returned all the usurped land and wealth and donated several new villages for the service of sadhus and Vaisnavas. On the order of Rasikananda, he also donated several bars of gold for the Navakalevara Festival of Lord Jagannatha in Puri.
In his previous life the elephant Gopala Dasa was a resident of Vanapur named Harihara. Once when He was coming from Ramakeli to Nilachala, Caitanya Mahaprabhu spent a night at his house. The Lord noticed that Harihara would engage a pure brahmana to daily offer five kilos of uncooked rice to Sri Saligrama. Angry at this offense, Mahaprabhu cursed Harihara and his family to be born as elephants.
In the next life, Harihara took birth as an elephant and was engaged in large scale destruction in Vanapur until he was delivered by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the form of Rasikananda.
This is a section of the book “Syamananda, the Joy of Radharani (English)”.
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