Mādhavendra Purī was very old man at that time, and it is order of Gopālajī, so he started for Jagannātha Purī. On the way there is a Gopīnātha temple in Orissa, on the border of Orissa and Bengal in the district of Dant . . . dantarn, that is called Dantan. So he stayed there overnight and he saw that the Gopāla . . . na . . . Gopīnāthajī was offered kṣīra, seven pots of kṣīra. So Mādhavendra Purī thought within himself, "If I could taste little kṣīra, then I would also make such kṣīra to offer my Gopāla in Vṛndāvana."
Then again he thought that, "Oh, I am so stupid that before offering to the Deity I am thinking of eating it." He thought himself to be very much culprit, and he immediately left the temple, "No, I shall not. I am committing offense." It is an offense. Therefore, when you bring bhoga for the Deity, it should be covered so that we greedy men may not see it and try to taste it. You see? Kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs, they sometimes do that. Sometimes they take away something before offering to the Deity. These are great offenses.
So Mādhavendra Purī thought it that he was a great offender; he should not live in this temple, he should go outside. So he went outside, and underneath a tree he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, just to pass over the night, then they then proceed toward Jagannātha Purī. So at night the Deity, Gopīnātha, was asking the pūjārī, the priest, that "I have kept one pot of kṣīra behind My back garment," pitavastra. Pitavastra. "You take this pot of kṣīra, condensed milk, to Mādhavendra Purī—he is sitting underneath a tree—and offer him."
So the pūjārī wake up, and actually when he opened the door of the Deity room, he found that pot of kṣīra. So he could understand that "This Mādhavendra Purī is not an ordinary devotee, he . . . he is a great devotee; otherwise how the Lord has stolen this pot for him?" (laughter) Since then, that Gopīnātha is famous as Kṣīra-corā Gopīnātha: Kṣīra-corā Gopīnātha, the Gopīnātha who stole the kṣīra for His devotee. So He is known as thief, Kṣīra-corā. He is famous as a great thief. Still people go to see Him, how nice this thief is.
That is the difference between Kṛṣṇa and ourself. When we are thief, we are beaten by shoes. And when Kṛṣṇa is thief, He is worshiped by devotees. Just like Kṛṣṇa is worshiped as Raṇacora, who left the war field. When a man leaves the war field, he is called coward. But Kṛṣṇa, everyone knows for pastimes He left the war field. It was in the Gujarat province. Kṛṣṇa as the Raṇacora who left the war field. That is cowardice; still He is worshiped. That is absolutism.
Kṛṣṇa in any condition, He is Kṛṣṇa. Either as Kṣīra-corā Gopīnātha, or as a taunter to the gopīs, or any way in the material world which is abominable, but when Kṛṣṇa does it, because He is absolute, it is good. That is absolutism. You cannot accuse Kṛṣṇa that, "Oh, You have done like this." Whatever He has done, it is right. So just last evening one boy was criticizing Kṛṣṇa, that "Why Kṛṣṇa makes this distinction stri-śūdra, vaiśya as pāpa-yoni?" So this is godlessness, that we dare to criticize Kṛṣṇa. We should not criticize Kṛṣṇa. But those who are unaware of Kṛṣṇa's position, they do, we have to inform them rightly, what is the right thing.