This story is about Sanatan Goswami, a close disciple of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who lived in Vrindavan. He was known for his intense spiritual practice, spending his days and nights chanting the name of Krishna (completing at least 300,000 japas daily) while tears of devotion flowed from his eyes.
The story unfolds as follows:
- The Request: A villager rushed to Sanatan Goswami’s hut one day and fell at his feet, begging for help. He needed money urgently to arrange his daughter’s marriage.
- The Gift: Sanatan Goswami, who was deep in meditation, eventually opened his eyes and directed the man to a stone lying neglected in the garden outside his hut. It was a philosopher’s stone (or a bar of gold in some versions) capable of turning base metals into gold. The saint told the villager to simply take it.
- The Realization: The villager took the stone and left, initially overjoyed that he had found a fortune. However, on his way home, he was struck by a sudden realization: if this stone was so incredibly valuable, why did the Sadhu keep it lying in the dirt outside, treating it like trash?. He concluded that Sanatan Goswami must possess a treasure far greater than gold to be able to discard such wealth so easily.
- The Return: The villager retraced his steps and returned to the hut. There, he saw Sanatan Goswami’s face glowing with spiritual radiance and bliss. The villager surrendered at the saint’s feet, saying, “I don’t want this… You give me what you have got”.
- The True Treasure: The villager threw the precious stone into the Yamuna river. In exchange, Sanatan Goswami gave him the true wealth he possessed: he initiated the villager into the chanting of Krishna’s name.
The narrator uses this story to illustrate that intense Japa practice brings a joy and peace that makes material wealth seem insignificant by comparison.