All glories to Śrī Guru & Gaurāṅga

About Śrī Śrīla Shyām Dās Bābā Mahārāj

Always Śrīla Mahārāj likes to pass away his personal topics. He speaks—‘What use hearing about a fallen soul like me.’ But still, we think it necessary to introduce Śrīla Mahārāj in front of you all so that there cannot be any complicacy and doubts. Though we know it very well that his “Vāṇī Svarūpa” is his real identity, because by now he is well known to everybody, still we are trying our best to speak something about him in a near approximation. He took birth near Calcutta Gauḍīya Mission at the bank of Śrī Gaṅgājī (Bāg Bāzār) in a poor vaiśya family, though the traditional culture of that family was very very high regarding educational qualification or art & cultural prosperity, but he was very fond of sports and games all alone (especially football), so naturally, he could not pay his full attention to his education, though his brainpower was very high. Anyway, he was a pure science student of the University of Calcutta. Later on in life, he was very inspired by the life of Albert Einstein, the great scientist, so naturally, he started developing some skills regarding scientific research work. Most people think that he was a scientist, but he says—“Not that; I was not a scientist.” He used to help them (scientists) in their research work in different ways. From childhood, some basic spiritual consciousness was seen in him, and also as per his horoscope, he was supposed to renounce at the age of nine or ten, but due to surrounding non-devotional conditions, he started living like a crazy boy with a playing mood.

His grandfather and grandmother got Harināma–dīkṣā from the Śāntipur link, but still, they had great respect for Gauḍīya Maṭh. Not only that, but also their house was just adjacent to the Gauḍīya Mission at Calcutta Bāg Bāzār, so naturally, he got the scope to get the association of those pure devotees knowingly or unknowingly in his childhood. His father and mother took dīkṣā from a sahajiyā. But still, before death his father started doing Harināma cravingly and also started traveling to all different pilgrimages, including Mathurā, Vṛndāvan, etc., but by that time Śrīla Mahārāj had already left home. Again his mother took Harināma–dīkṣā freshly from Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja—the great Ācārya of Devananda Gauḍīya Maṭh; of course, it was after the death of his father. She started hearing Harikathā of Śrīla Śyām Bābā at least eight hours a day, if not more, up to the last moment of her life.

At his young age, due to some material association, gradually he was feeling very annoyed (disturbed) and gradually started developing total detachment for this material world. He was searching for a sad–guru for a long time, who would guide him perfectly in his devotional life of Śrī Caitanya śikṣā—the transcendental temple of loveful eternity. He started traveling in different pilgrimages like mad. While he was traveling in Vṛndāvan–dhām with a group of Gauḍīya sādhus, suddenly one day, when he entered a devotional bookstore near Radha Damodar Temple, he could easily recognize his nitya–guru in a photo (Bhakti Pramoda Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāja) that struck him at first glance.

Really it was a miracle how he got the darśan of Śrīla Sad-Gurudeva to take Harināma-dīkṣā and saffron cloth, etc. His name was Śrī Śyāmal Kṛṣṇa Brahmacārī. Though he always thinks himself unfit, still by the causeless mercy of Śrīla Gurudeva and Śrīla Bhakti Bibudha Bodhāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, he got the rare scope of Vāṇī-sevā (printing and publication) through which he was successful to get genuine guru-kṛpā. Also, the nighttime sevā of Śrīla Gurudeva was very very important for him to realize the mystery of his sad-guru-tattva. His Gurudeva is really a remarkable milestone of idealism in front of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava society. Om Viṣṇupāda nitya-līlā praviṣṭa Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja is known to all — especially for his exclusive humble attitude.

Actually, he was the total embodiment of the “tṛṇād api sunīca” śloka by Śrīmān Mahāprabhu. Before leaving this material planet, Śrīla Gurudeva gave him Paramahaṁsa-veśa at the topmost place of Gauḍīya vipralambha-rasa-kṣetra Śrī Nīlāchala Dhāma on the day of Rāsa pūrṇimā (in the month of Kārtika); and also predicted something about his future bhajana life. From then on, he is known to us as Śrīla Śyāma dāsa Bābā Mahārāja. But why white veśa and not Sannyāsa-veśa? This is not only our question, but it was also the question of Śrīla Bhakti Ballabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Śrīla Gurudeva could realize the heart of his disciple (Śrīla Śyāma Bābā), so he was bound to approve this Paramahaṁsa-veśa to him. With this, Śrīla Gurudeva wanted to indicate to him to concentrate on bhajana, and at the same time, he also wanted to make him a perfect preacher (though not openly). That time he received a very important advice from Śrīla Gurudeva— “If at all nice flowers are there in a garden, then sweet smell is going all around; you need not invite honeybees. Being greedy, they are automatically going to come to collect honey from those flowers. In the same way if your bhajana is perfect then everybody can come to you to get genuine kṛpā from you; you don’t need  to run here and there without any reason.” Without perfect demand for Harikathā, he is always going to avoid invitation. From the very beginning of his spiritual life he has been maintaining a very strict standard of bhajana life; this he has learned from his Gurudeva. Due to some unusual happenings, he was bound to do bhajana at different places of Braja-dhāma like Gokula Mahāvana, Śrī Vṛndāvana, Govardhana, Nandagrāma, Varṣāṇā, Obegeāṅ (Shergaṛh) and Sūryakuṇḍa (Sūrya-pūjā līlā place of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī), but first he stayed in Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. He was never in favour of solitary bhajana, always he wanted to do Harikathā-kīrtana. When he started staying at Mūla-maṭha (Śrī Caitanya Maṭha) at the bank of Rādhākuṇḍa, there also continuous Harikathā-kīrtana was his motto of bhajana life (spiritual life). This kind of idealism he has learned from the life of Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Often he used to speak that—‘Śrīla Prabhupāda is the spiritual hero and topmost idealism in my life’.

At Govardhana Dāna-ghāṭī there was a small Gauḍīya Maṭha named Śrī Govardhana Gauḍīya Maṭha, where he stayed for a long time at rooftop bhajana-kuṭīra, but there also he was always busy with Harikathā-kīrtana, but daily Govardhana-parikramā was a must in his life to complete his Harināma quota silently. His Braja-dhāma-vāsa was under the guidance of the Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmīs, because it was known to him that without the kṛpā of the Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmīs nobody can stay at Braja-dhāma forcefully. Many times he took a vow for koṭi-nāma-yajña along with Bhāgavata-parāyaṇa, etc. By the advice of some senior devotees, he took the final decision to start Vāṇī-sevā again in a big way. Till then he has taken shelter at Śrī Godruma-dhāma near Bhaktivinoda Āsana to do Vāṇī-sevā (including Harikathā-kīrtana and printing publication sevā), so up to now at least seventy books have been edited & published by him in different languages, and also so many articles written by him were published in different magazines.

When Śrīla Gurudeva was manifesting sick-līlā to leave this material planet to get proper consolation, he was bound to approach Śrīla Bhakti Ballabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja at Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma in the month of Kārtika-vrata. On the Rāsa-pūrṇimā day, just in the morning time, at four o’clock, he was informed by Śrīla Bhakti Ballabha Tīrtha Mahārāja that he would have to go to Śrīdhāma Māyāpura immediately, because Śrīla Gurudeva went to nitya-līlā. Without any delay he started running towards Śrīdhāma Māyāpura to reach the lotus feet of Śrīla Gurudeva almost in penniless condition. Up to that time, Śrīla Mahārāja could not realize properly the reason why he was given this white veśa (Paramahaṁsa-veśa). Only on the day of the divine departure of his Gurudeva he started crying in front of the newly closed samādhi of Śrīla Gurudeva to realize the fact. Suddenly he could remember the advice of Śrīla Gurudeva at the time of Paramahaṁsa-veśa dīkṣā—to read Vedānta-sūtra properly. So by now, he started realizing that Śrīla Gurudeva wanted to protect him from those so-called envious devotees. Also without any pratiṣṭhā he will have to carry out the preaching mission of Śrīmān Mahāprabhu alone, without the help of others, because most of the weak people want to avoid him for his straightforwardness. Suddenly he could realize that his Gurudeva wanted to make him a real preacher who has no obligation to travel. Actually, white Paramahaṁsa-veśa implies bhajana-niṣṭhā, but when at the same time Paramahaṁsa Śrīla Gurudeva wanted to give him a direct order or instruction to go through Vedānta-darśana properly—then surely it means that he wanted to make Mahārāja a perfect preacher, but of course with no obligation to travel with the flag of preaching.

To break all those wrong siddhānta-vicāras going everywhere in the name of Śrī Gauḍīya-darśana already shown by Śrīmān Mahāprabhu and all of His genuine followers is the main duty of an Ācārya (or preacher). To give full protection to sampradāyika-vāṇī-vaibhava, a very powerful neutral preaching personality is very, very important; otherwise sampradāyika-vāṇī-vaibhava can get lost due to the nonstop efforts of those traitors. In this way, still today, he is going to lead his niṣkiñcana bhajana life — staying at Godrumadvīpa, which is non-different from Nanda-grāma. Also, a small editorial library he is maintaining somehow. Go-mātā sevā, Tulasī sevā, Gaṅgā sevā, Bhakta sevā, etc. are all tādīya-vastu-sevā and give very fast results in devotional life, and also all these sevā are already approved by Śrī Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu in different scriptures. So this way he was at all interested to serve Go-mātā from heart to enjoy Bhāgavata-kṛpā. Also, the special book was written by him on Go-mātā sevā to stop cow killing (Chetanā Jāgaraṇa) enjoying huge responses from different levels of this society, including the ministerial level. So one nice small gośālā in the name of ‘Śrī Śyāma Go-dhāma’ at Suvarṇa Vihāra Kṣetra Godrumadvīpa is being maintained by Śrīla Mahārāja somehow.

An astrologer predicted that he is going to leave his body at the age of 62 years. Śrīla Mahārāja is already 60 years old now. Sometimes he is saying that this is the exclusive decision to be taken by Śrīmān Nityānanda and Guruvarga. So how long he will have to stay on this planet is not clear to us. Meanwhile, he has taken the decision to give everyone all the spiritual treasure that he has received from his Gurudeva and Guruvarga. For this reason he is going to speak very frequently on different topics. We are going to put an open invitation to all.

This much we can say, and not more. Please excuse us.