Jayapataka Swami: I don’t understand the question. Who are we to say what Gopāla can do or not do? He is the independent Personality of Godhead. He can do whatever He wants. If He says that the deity of Gopīnātha is non-different from Him, what is wrong in that? And by that He was considered as Bhaktavatsala. Mādhavendra Purī was ready to travel through all these mleccha countries. He had a patra from the Orissa authorities. Once he went into Bengal, or into Vṛndāvana areas, those papers were not serving the purpose. So the Gopāla deity was the iṣṭadevatā of Mādhavendra Purī. He came in his dream and told Mādhavendra Purī to give the sandalwood pulp to the Gopīnātha deity. So his worshipable deity was Gopāla. Who is now known as Śrīnāthajī. So, that Śrīnāthajī, Gopāla, told him to put the sandalwood pulp on the body of Gopīnātha. So what is the harm in that? That was His special mercy. To save His devotee from untold problems. 14-Nov-2020 ŚRĪ MĀYĀPUR DHAM, INDIA