One Ekādaśī morning, Śrī Kṛtiratna Prabhu
was chanting śrī harināma, his grave face
revealing his absorption in a profound mood.
Just then, a brahmacārī brought the news that his
godbrother Śrīpāda Nārāyaṇa Mukharjī had come
to meet with him. Śrīla Gurudeva instructed the
brahmacārī to seat their guest respectfully. It was
natural for Kṛtiratna Prabhu to honour guests,
but on this day, he did not have even a paisā with
which to serve his godbrother, and this disturbed
him. Just then, by divine desire, he noticed a
chirping sparrow flying from the house to its
nest and back again. Suddenly, the bird dropped
from its beak a small packet, which clanged as
it hit the ground close to Kṛtiratna Prabhu. Out
of curiosity he opened the small packet and was
happy to find six-and-a-half annas [one anna
equals one sixteenth of a rupee] inside. With this
money he was able to buy fruits and sweets, offer
them to Bhagavān, and thus serve his godbrother.
Śrīpāda Nārāyaṇa Mukharjī became most pleased
by his godbrother’s affectionate behaviour, and
they soon began prema-mayī hari-kathā, a
discussion on divine love for Śrī Hari.
―Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja