O brāhmaṇa, who, having heard even once the sacred stories of the praiseworthy Lord, could willingly cease listening—unless their heart was deeply wounded by the arrows of desire and clouded in ignorance of the Lord’s true worth? For only such a person would turn away, while others are drawn irresistibly to His glories. Indeed, speech is truly speech only when it praises His divine qualities; hands are truly hands when they perform deeds in His service; the mind is truly a mind when it remembers Him dwelling within all beings; and ears are truly ears when they listen to His sacred stories. In the same way, a head is truly a head when it bows to Him who appears in both manifest and unmanifest forms; eyes are truly eyes when they behold Him; and those limbs alone are truly limbs which serve the water that has washed the feet of Viṣṇu or His devotees. Now, Sūta continued, when King Viṣṇurāta questioned him thus, the blessed son of Badarāyaṇa, Śuka, whose heart was immersed in Lord Vāsudeva, began to speak. Śuka said: Kṛṣṇa had a brāhmaṇa friend, most learned in the Veda, detached from sense pleasures, peaceful, and self-controlled. Though living as a householder, he sustained himself only with whatever came by chance. His wife, thin from hunger and clad in tattered garments, was just like him. One day, this devoted wife, her face pale and trembling from distress, approached her suffering husband and gently spoke: “O brāhmaṇa, is not the Lord, the husband of Śrī herself, your friend? He is devoted to the brāhmaṇas, the refuge of all, and the exalted Lord of the Sātvatas. Go to Him, O blessed one, who is the supreme shelter of the virtuous. Surely He will grant you, a householder in distress, abundant wealth. He now resides in Dvārakā as the Lord of the Bhojas, Vṛṣṇis, and Andhakas. Even as He remembers His lotus feet, He offers Himself to His devotees. Why would the teacher of the world not grant the desired objects—even those not sought—to one who worships Him?” Thus, gently and repeatedly entreated by his wife, the brāhmaṇa thought to himself, “Indeed, the greatest gain is to see the Lord, praised in the highest hymns.” Resolving to go, he asked, “Is there any gift at home, O good lady? Let something be given.” She went and begged four handfuls of flat rice from the brāhmaṇas, tied them in a piece of cloth, and gave them to her husband. Taking this humble offering, the foremost brāhmaṇa set out for Dvārakā, thinking, “How might I obtain a vision of Kṛṣṇa?” He passed through three enclosures and three courtyards, entering the homes of the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis, who followed the path of the infallible Lord. He entered one of the houses of Hari’s sixteen thousand queens and, as if attaining divine bliss, was filled with joy. From afar, Acyuta, seated on his beloved’s couch, saw his friend. Immediately, He rose up, approached, and joyfully embraced him with both arms. Delighted by the touch of his dear friend, the sage among the twice-born, the lotus-eyed Lord was overwhelmed with joy and tears flowed from His eyes. After seating his friend upon the couch, the Lord Himself performed the proper honors, bringing water and washing his feet with His own hands. O King, the purifier of the worlds, He respectfully took that water upon His own head and anointed His guest with divine fragrances of sandalwood, aguru, and saffron. With fragrant incense and rows of lamps, He worshipped his friend with joy, offered him betel nut, and, after presenting a cow, spoke words of welcome. The goddess herself served the twice-born guest, who was clad in worn, soiled garments, emaciated, and with veins prominent, by fanning him with a yak-tail fan. Seeing this avadhūta, so honored by Kṛṣṇa of spotless fame, the women of the inner chambers were amazed and filled with great affection. They wondered, “What pious act has this avadhūta, this mendicant, performed—he who is destitute of fortune, despised and lowly in this world?” For he, so honored by Śrīnivāsa, the preceptor of the three worlds, was embraced like an elder brother, even as the goddess of fortune remained seated on the couch. The two friends began to recount delightful stories from their time together in the preceptor’s house, holding each other's hands as they spoke. The Blessed Lord said, “O brāhmaṇa, after you completed your studies in the preceptor’s house and offered the proper fee, did you marry a suitable wife or not, O knower of dharma? It is well known to me, wise one, that your mind is not attached to household life or to wealth, for you act without desire and do not take much pleasure in such things. Some perform actions, their minds deluded by desire, abandoning their divine natures, just as I do for the sake of maintaining the world. “O brāhmaṇa, do you remember our time living together in the preceptor’s house? For the twice-born, by knowing what is to be known, crosses beyond darkness. Indeed, he is the very origin here of those devoted to righteous action, born of the twice-born, and the foremost among those in the āśramas, just as I am the giver of knowledge and the teacher. O brāhmaṇa, those skilled in the true meaning, among those who follow varṇa and āśrama, easily cross the ocean of worldly existence by my instruction as their teacher. I, the indwelling soul of all beings, am not satisfied by worship, offspring, austerity, or restraint, as I am by service to the teacher. “O brāhmaṇa, do you remember our conduct while living with the preceptor, when, prompted by the preceptor’s wives, we sometimes went to gather firewood? As we entered the great forest, O twice-born one, a fierce storm arose, with violent winds and harsh thunder. By then, the sun had set and darkness covered all directions; the low-lying riverbank, now flooded, could not be discerned at all. There, we were struck repeatedly by powerful winds and torrents of water, overwhelmed by the flood; unable to tell the directions or see each other in the forest, we wandered about, holding hands, distressed. “At sunrise, our teacher Sāndīpani, searching for us, saw his students in a wretched state. ‘Ah, dear children, you have suffered greatly for my sake; yet, forgoing your own well-being, you have devoted yourselves to me. Indeed, this is what true disciples must do for their teacher: to dedicate all their efforts and very selves to the guru with pure intent.