Painting of Sanatana Goswami with a straw in his mouth, as an expression of humility and clasping the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

From the following extract of conversation between Sri Caitanya Mahapabhu and Sanatana Goswami at Varanasi, India, we find that touching the lotus feet of sadhu is not just some old Indian folklore, but is truly supported in Shastra:

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Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, “By seeing you, by touching you and by glorifying your transcendental qualities, one can perfect the purpose of all sense activity. This is the verdict of the revealed scriptures. (same)

PURPORT

This is confirmed in the following verse from the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (13.2).

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“‘My dear Vaishnava, seeing a person like you is the perfection of one’s eyesight, touching your lotus feet is the perfection of the sense of touch, and glorifying your good qualities is the tongue’s real activity, for in the material world it is very difficult to find a pure devotee of the Lord.’”(V2 improved punctuation) No purport.