When the Lord personally reciprocates
In Puri, Odisha, there is the famous temple of Saksi Gopal, the witness Gopal, who walked all the way from Vrindavana to Puri (on the other side of India) to bear witness to a promise.
In Puri, Odisha, there is the famous temple of Saksi Gopal, the witness Gopal. This name was given because this particular deity walked all the way from Vrindavana to Puri (on the other side of India) to bear witness to a promise, out of the pleas of a young Brahmana who had a strong faith in Him.
This is a story that illustrates how deities are not idols, but personal forms of Krsna, who reciprocate according to the faith of the worshiper. If a devotee sees the deity as a statue and worships Him just out of tradition, or out of the desire for some material recompense, the deity will appear as just a statue for him. However, if a devotee sees the deity as the Lord Himself, then the Lord will manifest personally through the deity.
Srila Prabhupada tells this story in the book "Raja Vidya", chapter three:
"In India there is one temple called Sākṣi-Gopāla (Kṛṣṇa is often called Gopāla). The Gopāla mūrti, or statue, was at one time located in a temple in Vṛndāvana. Once, two brāhmaṇas, one old and one young, went to visit Vṛndāvana on a pilgrimage. It was a long trip, and in those days there were no railways, so travelers underwent many hardships. The old man was much obliged to the youth for helping him on the journey, and on arriving in Vṛndāvana he said to him, “My dear boy, you have rendered me so much service, and I am much obliged to you. I would like very much to return that service and give you some reward.”
“My dear sir,” the youth said, “you are an old man just like my father. It is my duty to serve you. I don’t require any reward.”
“No, I’m obliged to you, and I must reward you,” the old man insisted. He then promised to give the young man his young daughter in marriage.
The old man was a very rich man, and the youth, although a learned brāhmaṇa, was very poor. Considering this, the youth said, “Don’t promise this, for your family will never agree. I am such a poor man, and you are aristocratic, so this marriage will not take place. Don’t promise this way before the Deity.”
The conversation was taking place in the temple before the Deity of Gopāla Kṛṣṇa, and the young man was anxious not to offend the Deity. However, despite the youth’s pleas, the old man insisted on the marriage. After staying in Vṛndāvana for some time, they finally returned home, and the old man informed his eldest son that his young sister was to be married to the poor brāhmaṇa youth. The eldest son became very angry: “Oh, how have you selected that pauper as husband for my sister? This cannot be.”
The old man’s wife also came to him and said, “If you marry our daughter to that boy, I shall commit suicide.”
The old man was thus perplexed. After some time, the brāhmaṇa youth became very anxious: “He has promised to marry his daughter to me, and he made that promise before the Deity. Now he is not coming to fulfill it.” He then went to see the old man to remind him of his promise.
“You promised before Lord Kṛṣṇa,” the youth said, “and you are not fulfilling that promise. How is that?”
The old man was silent. He began praying to Kṛṣṇa, for he was perplexed. He didn’t want to marry his daughter to the youth and cause such great trouble within his family. In the meantime the elder son came out and began to accuse the brāhmaṇa youth. “You have plundered my father in the place of pilgrimage. You gave him some intoxicant and took all his money, and now you are saying he has promised to offer you my youngest sister. You rascal!”
In this way there was much noise, and people began to gather. The youth could understand that the old man was still agreeable but that the family was making it difficult for him. People began to gather about because of the noise the elder son was raising, and the brāhmaṇa youth began to exclaim to them that the old man had made this promise before the Deities, but that he could not fulfill it because the family was objecting. The eldest son, who was an atheist, suddenly interrupted the youth and said, “You say that the Lord was witnessing. Well, if He comes and bears witness to my father’s promise, you can have my sister in marriage.”
The youth replied, “Yes, I shall ask Kṛṣṇa to come as a witness.” He was confident that God would come. An agreement was then made before everyone that the girl would be given in marriage if Kṛṣṇa came from Vṛndāvana as a witness to the old man’s promise.
The brāhmaṇa youth returned to Vṛndāvana and began to pray to Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: “Dear Lord, You must come with me.” He was such a staunch devotee that he spoke to Kṛṣṇa just as one would speak to a friend. He was not thinking that the Gopāla Deity was a mere statue or image, but he considered Him to be God Himself. Suddenly the Deity spoke to him:
“How do you think that I can go with you? I am a statue. I can’t go anywhere.”
“Well, if a statue can speak, he can also walk,” the boy replied.
“All right, then,” the Deity said finally. “I shall go with you, but on one condition. In no case shall you look back to see Me. I will follow you, and you will know that I am following by the jingle of My leg bangles.”
The youth agreed, and in this way they left Vṛndāvana to go to the other town. When the trip was nearly over, just as they were about to enter his home village, the youth could no longer hear the sound of the bangles, and he began to fear: “Oh, where is Kṛṣṇa?” Unable to contain himself any longer, he looked back. He saw the statue standing still. Because he looked back, Gopāla would go no further. He immediately ran into the town and told the people to come out and see Kṛṣṇa who had come as a witness. Everyone was astounded that such a large statue had come from such a distance, and they built a temple on the spot in honor of the Deity, and today people are still worshiping Sākṣi-Gopāla, the Lord as a witness."
There are many pastimes related to deities talking to devotees in their dreams and reciprocating their prayers. In Mayapur, for example, there are many stories connected with Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, who not only protects all of us but directly reciprocates with devotees. There is even a small book compiled on these pastimes, and these are not stories from bygone eras, but events that happened in recent years. You can read for yourself:
