Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja
No room for self-interest in honesty
Prior to joining Gauḍīya Maṭha, my paramārādhyatama Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādahva Gosvāmī Mahārāja, worked for an English-owned business that purchased linseeds from farmers, packaged them and sent them to England. Most of the employees worked under Guru Mahārāja. Once, it came to Guru Mahārāja’s notice that some of the workers were adulterating the product by replacing linseeds with sand during the packaging stage. The stolen linseeds were then sold off, and the profits were shared among the thieving workers. When Guru Mahārāja heard this, he approached the owner and said, “Some of our employees are engaged in an extremely disgraceful act. For their petty self-interest, the reputation of the business is being destroyed. I made a huge mistake by blindly trusting them. You should therefore have me arrested. I do not even know for how long they have been engaged in such a dishonorable act. But ignorance cannot be accepted as an excuse. After you have me arrested, you may also have them arrested.”
The English business owner was highly astonished by Guru Mahārāja’s unmatched honesty. He tried to pacify Guru Mahārāja by saying, “This is a delicate issue. Please be assured we will handle it most conscientiously.” Later, the workers were given a stern warning not to continue with their thievery, or else they would be reported to the police.
Wishing only for the welfare of all
When Guru Mahārāja was working in Kolkata before joining the maṭha, he once felt pain in his teeth. As a quick remedy to reduce the pain, one of his colleagues gave him a pinch of tobacco to be kept in his gums. Throughout his life, Guru Mahārāja had never even inhaled the scent of intoxicants, and therefore when he put the tobacco in his mouth, he fell unconscious, being unable to tolerate its pungent smell. All his limbs turned bluish. It appeared as if he had been poisoned. His colleague was astonished and unsure about what to do. Guru Mahārāja was admitted to Śambhunātha Paṇḍita Hospital. After receiving treatment, his health recovered somewhat. The doctor and the police officer asked him, “Whom do you suspect might have given you poison?” Guru Mahārāja replied, “The person who gave me the tobacco—not poison—is my friend, and he gave it to me only for my wellbeing. My body simply rejected it. There were no ill intentions.”
After hearing Guru Mahārāja’s reply, the doctor and the police officer left. The person who had offered him the tobacco then told him, “If you would have mentioned my name, not only would I have lost my job, but I would have found myself in prison, as well.”
Guru Mahārāja replied, “I do not wish to be the cause of any harm to anyone. I cannot falsely suspect or accuse anyone. I wish only for everyone’s welfare, and nothing else.”
The standard of respecting images of Bhagavān and His devotees
When Guru Mahārāja took shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lotus feet but had not yet come to reside in the maṭha, he stayed in a big rented house in Kolkata. An artist relative from his purva-āśrama had given him an oil painting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as a gift, which he hung in the hall of his rented house. He would sit in front of the painting and perform kīrtana with his godbrother Śrīpāda Nārāyaṇa Mukherjee and friend Śrī Haridāsa.
Once, his godbrother Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prakāśa Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja visited his home along with Śrīpāda Kīrtana Prabhu during their monthly bhikṣā collection. Seeing the portrait of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the hall, Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja asked Guru Mahārāja, “Do you feel happy upon seeing this very beautiful portrait of Śrīman Mahāprabhu?”
Guru Mahārāja replied, “Yes, Mahārāja-jī. I do.”
Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja gravely replied, “Is it the duty of Śrīman Mahāprabhu to please you by remaining present here, or should you be the one making endeavors to please Him?”
Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja then asked Guru Mahārāja, “You have accepted Śrīla Prabhupāda as your spiritual master. What arrangements have you made for cooking?”
Guru Mahārāja replied, “I have appointed an Oriya brāhmaṇa to cook for me. He is responsible for everything related to kitchen services.”
Hearing this, Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja confronted Guru Mahārāja: “Have your hands been eaten by crocodiles? Why are you unable to cook bhoga and offer it to Bhagavān on your own, without the help of others?
Before Guru Mahārāja could even respond, Śrīpāda Kīrtana Prabhu whispered to Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja, “You should not speak to him like this. He comes from an affluent family. It is irrational to expect him to be able to do all the cooking himself; he has no experience with such things. Your harsh statements may make him lose faith in Gauḍīya Maṭha and become dissatisfied with us.”
Although Śrīpāda Kīrtana Prabhu was quietly whispering, Guru Mahārāja could hear everything. Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja became even more displeased after hearing Śrīpāda Kīrtana Prabhu’s statement and said, “If I will not tell him, then who will? He is my godbrother, and I therefore possess the right to say anything I wish to him, at anytime.”
Guru Mahārāja became overwhelmed with joy to hear this. The mamatā (possessive affection) Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja displayed for him was unprecedented. Guru Mahārāja felt eternally grateful to him for the rest of his life, and he served Śrīla Mahārāja with great enthusiasm whenever the opportunity arose.
Śrīla Araṇya Gosvāmī Mahārāja often taught that Bhagavān’s name and Deity form—which includes His portrait—are non-different from Bhagavān Himself. Accepting this teaching with firm faith, Guru Mahārāja, through his own conduct, always demonstrated the standard by which one should show proper respect to the images of Bhagavān and His pure devotees. He did not frivolously place such images here and there, nor did he allow any of his disciples to engage in such irresponsible conduct. He sent the oil painting of Śrīman Mahāprabhu to Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha, where it was kept on the chariot during every nagara-saṅkīrtana organized by the maṭha.
When Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha was established, Guru Mahārāja installed the paintings of the complete guru-paramparā in the kīrtana hall. He established the standard of properly respecting such images by daily offering daṇḍavat-praṇāmas to them.
A new position at a most respectable firm
During Guru Mahārāja’s time at that English-owned business, the superior to whom he reported was an Indian manager. But when the owner of the company observed Guru Mahārāja’s dexterity, competence, his unmatched capacity, his habit of never remaining idle, and his enthusiasm, he would always call for him directly, saying, “Mr. Banerjee! Mr Banerjee!”
When Guru Mahārāja left his job and took complete shelter of the Gauḍīya Maṭha, his first service was, as per the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda, to accompany a preaching party to Madras (now Chennai). During that time, he received a letter from one of his previous colleagues, saying, “I presume that you are now working for a firm larger than ours, and that you are earning much more than you received here; otherwise, how would it have been possible for you to leave in such haste without informing any of us, especially when the owner, considering you dear, would always call for you even in the presence of your superiors?”
In his reply, Guru Mahārāja wrote, “What you have written is absolutely correct. I hold a position with high responsibility at a very large firm. The salary I receive here is unimaginable. I sincerely pray that you bless me, so that my position at this firm may become permanent.”
Bhāgavan is the maintainer of all
Guru Mahārāja had a friend named Śrī Haridāsa who would often visit the rented apartment in which Guru Mahārāja lived prior to joining the maṭha. There, they would perform kīrtana together. After staying in Kolkata for some time, Guru Mahārāja joined Gauḍīya Maṭha and went to preach in Madras, as per the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda. After the Madras programs were completed, Guru Mahārāja returned to Kolkata.
Once, when Śrīla Prabhupāda was scheduled to speak hari-kathā at Darbhanga Hall of Kolkata University, Guru Mahārāja requested Śrī Haridāsa to accompany him to hear Śrīla Prabhupāda speak. Śrī Haridāsaa replied, “You have no one to cry after you; you are not married, and you have no children. But I have a wife and son, and I must maintain them. If I do not think about their maintenance, then who will? How will they receive a good life? Accompanying you to the program and hearing hari-kathā will take time. If I were to instead spend that time earning money for my family, they would be better provided for.” Guru Mahārāja did not say anything to him at that time, but instead left on his own to go hear Śrīla Prabhupāda’s kathā.
A few years later, Guru Mahārāja heard from his friend and godbrother Śrī Nārāyaṇa Mukherjee that Śrī Haridāsa had died in a car accident.
One day, after Guru Mahārāja had established Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha in Kolkata, Śrī Haridāsa’s son visited the maṭha to have darśana of Guru Mahārāja. After Guru Mahārāja observed him offering praṇāmas with great faith and devotion, he asked him who he was and from where he had come. He replied, “I am the son of your friend Haridāsa.” Guru Mahārāja then inquired about the wellbeing of his family, about his home and about his job, and gave him prasāda before he left.
After he left, Guru Mahārāja narrated the above-mentioned incident with Śrī Haridāsa to us and gave us a teaching: “Haridāsa used to ask, ‘Who will maintain my family if not me?’ But just see: his family has been maintained even after his death. The arrangements for one’s maintenance, studies and all other requirements are made by Bhāgavan Himself, and not by anyone else.”
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā (3.27)
All aspects of material activity are performed by the modes of material nature but a person whose intelligence is bewildered by false ego thinks himself to be the doer.*
Severing the thick knots in my heart
When I accepted shelter at the lotus feet of Guru Mahārāja and joined Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha as a fulltime brahmacārī, I still possessed many heart-binding knots in the form of strong impressions I had nurtured due to my birth in a brāhmaṇa family. However, Guru Mahārāja systematically cut all such knots by citing evidences from the scriptures, and thereby made me thoroughly realize the meaning of the following verse:
tato duḥsaṅgam utsṛjya
satsu sajjeta buddhimān
santa evāsya chindanti
mano-vyāsaṅgam uktibhiḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.26.26)
For all these reasons, an intelligent person rejects detrimental association and associates instead with saintly persons. This is because only saintly personalities, with their powerful and virtuous instructions, can cut his unholy, material attachments from the heart.*
In cutting these knots, he demonstrated his limitless compassion, unrelenting tolerance and thorough understanding of the intrinsic meanings of the statements of the scriptures.
In my purva-aśrama, I accepted prāsada only if someone born in a brāhmaṇa family had cooked it, offered it to Bhagavān and then served it, and not otherwise. I maintained this practice even after six years of associating with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas while staying at home. When I later joined the maṭha, Guru Mahārāja, being fully aware of my habits, for the first five years of my stay engaged only the brāhmaṇa-born brahmacārīs in the services of cooking, Deity worship and serving prasāda and caraṇāmṛta.
During that time, I accepted prasāda alone, away from everyone else. Guru Mahārāja therefore arranged for a brāhmaṇa-born brahmacārī to daily deliver prasāda to my room. I would honor the prasāda on my plate without accepting a second serving. I considered that after taking my first bite, the remaining prasāda would become ucchiṣṭa (remnant), and thus not suitable for consumption. Therefore, in order to keep the contents of the plate pure, I would hold the plate with my left hand and keep kuśa grass pressed between my thumb and the plate. Also, I would maintain complete silence while honoring prasāda. If someone would call my name during that time, I would immediately stop accepting prasāda, because I considered that person to have touched me through sound, thus leaving me in an impure state unsuitable for honoring prasāda. Furthermore, I considered it demeaning to even set foot on land belonging to a telī (oil merchant), sāhā (businessman from the vaiśya community) or goldsmith, let alone to accept prasāda at such places.
When Guru Mahārāja established Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha in 1955 in a rented property at 86A Rāsa-bihārī Avenue in Kolkata, I joined the maṭha fulltime. There, Guru Mahārāja indirectly addressed me by saying, “It is true that the Vedasadvise one to abstain from useless conversation, maintain complete silence and remember Bhagavān at the time of honoring prasāda. The followers of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, however, know that the significance of the following statements are much greater than simply remembering Bhagavān by mind: “paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam—may śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana be all-victorious,” “kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ—always perform kīrtana of the names of Śrī Hari,” and “harer nama harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā—the only means of deliverance in the age of Kali is to chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Śrī Hari; there is no other way, no other way, no other way.” The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas therefore relish singing the glories of both Bhagavān and mahā-prasāda at the time of honoring prasāda, and thus use that time most suitably.”
After hearing these words from Guru Mahārāja and constantly meditating on them, I concluded that performing kīrtana is greatly superior to observing silence while accepting prasāda, and from then on, though I still sat alone, I began performing kīrtana while accepting prasāda.
After some time, by the endless mercy of Guru Mahārāja, the thought manifested in my heart that all the devotees of Śrīman Mahāprabhu used to accept prasāda together. I therefore resolved not to deprive myself of the association of the Vaiṣṇavas,and thus began sitting with the devotees while accepting prasāda. Through this, my self-imposed restriction of accepting prasāda only from the hands of a brāhmaṇa-born devotee was also removed, and the glories of mahā-prasāda began manifesting in my heart more and more. I then accepted for myself whatever initiated devotees would serve to all the Vaiṣṇavas.
One day while honoring prasāda, the devotee offering the Vaiṣṇavas a second serving did not understand the gesture of my hand indicating the amount of prasāda I required, and, questioning why I did not communicate vocally, served me a somewhat larger quantity of prasāda than I desired. Feeling annoyed, I stopped eating and immediately left. Later, I considered that because the Vaiṣṇavas are objects of our service, it is inappropriate not to answer them when questioned. Thus, my habit of not speaking to others while honoring prasāda was completely destroyed, as was my practice of honoring only one serving of prasāda.
In Jagannātha Purī, I observed that mahā-prasāda was never considered to be ucchiṣṭa, and therefore my practice of touching kuśa grass to my plate while honoring prasāda also faded away.
Once during Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā,the entire parikramā party gathered to hear hari-kathā and honor prasāda below a large pīpala tree that grew on the land of an oil merchant. There, flat rice was soaked, mixed with guḍa, tamarind and other ingredients, and was then served to everyone. After everyone finished honoring prasāda, the devotees who were engaged in serving prasāda then honored prasāda themselves. Normally, Śrī Acintya-govinda Prabhu, Śrī Viṣṇu dāsa Prabhu and I would serve, along with a few other devotees, prasāda to the sannyāsīs and maṭhavāsīs. At the time, I considered it highly disgraceful to even step on the land of an oil merchant, but somehow, with a heavy heart, I stepped onto that land while remembering the kīrtana by Śrī Narotamma dāsa Ṭhākura, which I had heard from the lotus lips of Guru Mahārāja:
śrī gauḓa-maṇḍala-bhūmi, ĵebā jāne cintāmaṇi,
tā’ra haya vraja-bhūme vāsa
One who knows the land of Śrī Gauḍa-maṇḍala to be spiritual touchstone, achieves residence in the land of Vraja.*
I also remembered the statement of Śrī Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja: “It is simply impossible for the even world’s wealthiest man to purchase even one particle of the dhāma’s transcendental dust.” Despite the fact that I had overcome my reservation about stepping on the land, I was still hesitant to accept prasāda there. Observing my reluctance, Guru Mahārāja said, with me in mind, that our purva-ācārya Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written:
śvapaca-gṛhete, māgiyā khāibô,
pibô sarasvatī-jala
puline puline, gaḓāgaḓi dibô,
kôri’ kṛṣṇa-kolāhala
Śaraṇāgatī (8.1.2)
I shall eat by begging from the homes of the untouchables and drink water from the Sarasvatī River. I shall roll on the ground on the river’s bank, loudly calling out Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s names.*
Understanding Guru Mahārāja’s heartfelt desire and desiring to please him, I put a couple of grains of that flat rice in my mouth while standing before him.
Once, I accompanied Guru Mahārāja and many other devotees during his preaching in Tejpura, Assam. There, Śrī Bhagavata-prasāda, the owner of Darang Tea Estate, who belonged to a vaiśya (baniyā) family, invited all the devotees to honor prasāda in his home. When asked whether I would be in attendance, I replied, “I am feeling unwell. I will stay here”. No one understood that the real reason I declined the invitation was because my previous strong impressions and the hard knots binding my heart allowed me only to accept prasāda at the house of a brāhmaṇa, and not at the house of a vaiśya. Guru Mahārāja, however, understood my mood, and, targeting my welfare, quoted a verse from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 20.57):
kuṣṭhī-viprera ramaṇī, pativratā-śiromaṇi,
pati lāgi’ kôilā veśyāra sevā
The wife of a brāhmaṇa suffering from leprosy established herself as the topmost of all chaste women when she served a prostitute in order to please her husband.
Externally, it appeared as if the wife of the leprosy-stricken brāhmaṇa served a prostitute. But actually, it was through such activities that she served her husband, who was the only true object of her service.
The purport of Guru Mahārāja’s words was that instead of giving prominence to satisfying the vaiśya host, I should give more importance to pleasing śrī guru and the Vaiṣṇavas. Realizing this, I went to the home of Śrī Bhagavata-prasāda and accepted prasāda there. Thus, I became completely freed from the last of my self-imposed restrictions. In this way, for my spiritual welfare, Guru Mahārāja most compassionately severed every last knot in my heart, one by one, with great patience.
Do not become an obstacle to one’s inclination to serve
When I was a brahmacārī staying in the Kolkata maṭha, fellow brahmacārīs would occasionally approach me and offer to wash my clothes or clean my room. Although I would always forbid them to do so, they would at times forcibly engage in such services. One day, when a brahmacārī was forcefully taking the bucket containing my soaking clothes, Guru Mahārāja saw us and said to me, “Give him your clothes for washing. Try not to become an obstacle to his inclination to serve. By serving Vaiṣṇavas more advanced than yourself, you can earn much more than he will earn by washing your clothes.”
Guru Mahārāja was implying that although it is true that a person loses a part of his own previously earned sukṛti by accepting personal service from another devotee, there is no loss if that person spends the same amount of time and effort in rendering service to a Vaiṣṇava more advanced than himself; he will earn exponentially more sukṛti than that taken from him in the course of being served.
The importance of establishing sambandha-jñāna
At Mai Hiran Gate in Jalandhar, an old lady once asked Guru Mahārāja, “I have visited the temple daily since the time I was unmarried, and I have continued this practice even today in my old age, when I have been blessed with grandsons and granddaughters. There was never a time when I neglected this practice. However, even after reaching this advanced age, my mind does not for a moment remember Bhagavān, even if I try to force it to do so. Instead, it remains naturally and constantly absorbed in thinking about the wellbeing and happiness of my grandchildren. Please bless me by clarifying the reasons for the defective state of my mind, and also prescribe the remedy, so that I may meet with spiritual welfare.”
After attentively hearing the old lady’s inquiry, Guru Mahārāja replied, “Your question is highly appropriate. Everyone should hear this question and its reply. I will therefore give my answer in the assembly tomorrow during hari-kathā.”
The next day in the assembly, Guru Mahārāja repeated the old lady’s question and, for the spiritual welfare of everyone present, delivered his answer: “Mātā-jī, you have been daily visiting the temple for a long time. But have you once considered the nature of your relationship with the presiding Deity of this temple?”
With a simple heart, the old lady replied, “No, Mahārāja-jī. This thought never occurred to me.”
Śrīla Guru Mahārāja then said, “It is impossible to develop love and affection for someone without first establishing one’s relationship with that person. Only after realizing that mutual relationship can love and affection automatically manifest in the heart according to the nature of the relationship. In the absence of a firmly established relationship, the mind can never become attached to Bhagavān by ritualistically visiting temples.
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30)
Persons who are addicted to household life due to having uncontrolled senses, are entering into hellish life wherein they repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their consciousness cannot turn towards the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa either by their own understanding, by the instructions of others or by the combination of both.*
“It is seen in this material world that love develops when service is rendered to one’s beloved with care and affection. Without such affectionate service, a mother will not develop love for her own child, whether that child is naturally conceived or adopted, nor will a master develop love for his pet dog.
“Every jīva has an eternal servitor relationship with Bhagavān. When the conditioned jīva forgets this relationship and thus behaves in opposition to it, the external potency of Bhagavān manifests this material creation and bestows worldly miseries upon him. The soul travels through the 8,400,000 species of life, assuming different bodies according to its past activities. Eventually, it attains this most rare human form. By virtue of his previously accrued sukṛti (spiritually pious activities), and by the endless mercy of Bhagavān, the jīva gains the direct association of an intimate and dear associate of the Lord. It is only through such association that he learns the eternal truth about who he truly is, who Bhagavān is, and the nature of their mutual relationship. Consequently, the inclination to serve Bhagavān arises in his heart. When he receives the seed of the creeper of bhakti—that is, the desire to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa—from śrīgurudeva and plants that seed in his heart, he assumes the role of a gardener and provides the seed with water in the form of śravaṇa and kīrtana.As the bhakti creeper gradually grows, his love and affection for Bhagavān also increases proportionally. His affectionate service to Bhagavān will only bear the fruit of bhagavat-prema (transcendental love) after he firmly establishes his relationship with the Lord. If a person continues to simply visit the temple and return home after having darśana of the Deity as per his own sweet will, pure love and affection for Bhagavān will never appear in his heart, even after thousands of lifetimes of this practice.”
Offer before accepting
When Guru Mahārāja would go out for preaching, he would always carry drinking water with him. After reaching the venue where he was to deliver hari-kathā, he would immediately perform kīrtana and speak hari-kathā. It was only after performing such services that he would accept water, prasāda or any offering from the organizers or hosts. If during the program he felt thirsty before he received the opportunity to perform the services of kīrtana and hari-kathā, he would drink only the water he had brought with him, and not any water offered by the hosts. His view was, “We are devotees. Our only wealth is Śrī Hari, guru and the Vaiṣṇavas. If we accept the offerings of our hosts without first offering to them this wealththrough the means of hari-kathā and kīrtana, then we will become indebted to them. Śrīla Prabhupāda has taught us this important lesson through his own conduct. Once, when he was invited by the king of Kasim Bāzār to speak hari-kathā, but did not receive the opportunity to do so for three days,he observed a total fast, accepting only one tulasī leaf during these three days. Similarly, in his Śrī Upadeśāmṛta (4), Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has explained the principle of dadāti pratigṛhṇāti: one ought first to offer before accepting.”
Encouraging the propensity for sādhu-sevā
I once accompanied Guru Mahārāja to Haridvāra for Kumbha-melā. One morning after I took bath in the Gaṅgā and returned, Guru Mahārāja came out of his room and told me, “I am going to take bath in the Gaṅgā. Can you come along with me?” Without mentioning that I had just returned from bathing, I accompanied him as per his desire. Because all my clothes were soaking in a bucket at that time, I went shirtless, wearing only a dhotī.
When we reached the ghāṭa, one lady, regarding us as sādhus, offered me a new undershirt. I was not inclined to accept it, but Guru Mahārāja said, “Accept the shirt. Whether or not you wear it is up to you, but accept it. Do not become an impediment to her inclination to render service.”
While we were returning to our paṇḍāla after taking bath in the Gaṅgā, another lady approached me and offered halavā (semolina pudding) in a leaf cup. Because I was unwilling to accept something from a person not yet initiated into our sampradāya,I refused to accept it. The lady said, “But this halavā is completely pure. With the intention of only serving it to mahātmās,I cooked it in pure ghee made by my own hands from pure cow’s milk.” Guru Mahārāja then told me to accept it, and I obliged. The lady offered a leaf cup of halavā to Guru Mahārāja, also, and he graciously accepted it.
On our way back, my mind was busy reflecting: “Śrī Guru Mahārāja himself has instructed us not to eat anything offered by non-Vaiṣṇavas. However, today he himself ordered me to accept the offering of a non-Vaiṣṇava. What is the reason for this?”
While my mind was occupied with such thoughts, Guru Mahārāja understood my perplexity and said, “That lady is offering her halavā only to mahātmās, and not to anyone else. Whatever her internal desires may be, her only intention, at least externally, is to serve the sādhus. It is our duty to nourish and encourage the propensity to serve sādhus, and not to diminish it. Therefore, it is only appropriate to encourage her to serve sādhus by accepting her offering. If you desire, you may give it to a faithful person who will be highly pleased to receive something from the hands of a sādhu.” Understanding Guru Mahārāja’s message, I followed his instructions and began accepting the offerings of those who possessed a sincere desire to serve sādhus.
Perform or perish
The land Guru Mahārāja had acquired in Kolkata for establishing Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha included an old building that needed to be razed in order to construct a new building. During the building’s demolition, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja visited the site. After observing us in our work, he asked me, “Have you people gone crazy? This place has been beautifully built with the most exquisite materials, like Italian mosaic flooring, Belgian glass windows, and door and window frames made from top-quality Burmese sāguna wood. Yet you are knocking it all down. Are you out of your mind? When Mādhava Mahārāja arrives, please tell him that Siddhāntī Mahārāja visited this site and has advised against demolishing the building.”
I personally conveyed Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s message to Guru Mahārāja, who asked me, “If your goal is to throw a stone at this nearby door, how will you do it?” In response, I mimicked softly tossing a stone with very little force.
Guru Mahārāja then asked, “Now, if you intend to throw the stone somewhere far, how will you do it?” I then mimicked throwing a stone with much greater force.
Guru Mahārāja concluded, “Similarly, the higher we aim, the better our efforts to achieve our goal will be. Upon reaching a country he wanted to attack and conquer, Napoleon would either burn his ship or intentionally sink it, boldly signifying to his soldiers that their only option was to perform or perish. When he ordered his army to cross over the Alps mountain range, most of the soldiers were dumbfounded, and said, ‘It is impossible!’ Napoleon replied, ‘The word impossible exists only in a fool’s dictionary.’
“When a person is left with no other option but to act, he makes his best efforts to accomplish his goal. But if given the slightest leeway, he thinks endlessly without acting. It has been rightly said, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention.’ Therefore, demolish that building, so that we may be compelled to act to construct ourselves a place to stay. Moreover, we need a much bigger hall for hari-kathā and kīrtana, even if it is only a tin shed without opulent decorations.”
Guru Mahārāja’s words filled my heart with great energy and enthusiasm.
Different instructions for different natures
Once, when we were staying in the Kolkata maṭha, I went to preach with Śrī Maṅgala Mahārāja, Śrī Giri Mahārāja, Śrī Purī Mahārāja and other godbrothers of mine. During our programs, we were given about eight to ten sets of Vaiṣṇavaclothes made out of quality mill cloth in donation. I carefully kept the clothes, and gave them to the bhaṇḍārī (storekeeper) when we returned to the maṭha.
One day, Guru Mahārāja asked me, “A resident of the maṭha needs new clothes. Please purchase a set from the control shop, so that I may give it to him.” (A control shop is a store where simple clothes are sold at government-controlled rates.)
Because I was new in the maṭha at that time, I was unaware of the depth and gravity of the Vaiṣṇavas’ insights, and so I immediately told Guru Mahārāja, “We previously brought eight to ten sets of clothes from our preaching tour and gave them to the bhaṇḍārī. I will get a set from him and give it to you.”
Guru Mahārāja replied, “I am aware you have brought these fine clothes, but for this person, a set of simple clothes from control shop will be most appropriate, because he is from a simple farming community. If he is given good quality, expensive clothes at this point in time, he will become a sense enjoyer. We must remain extremely careful in our dealings with others and consider the effect our actions may have on them. If we are not careful, we may cause neophyte devotees to deviate from the path of bhakti.”
Never support the sense enjoyment of others
Once, Guru Mahārāja gave me a very fine piece of cloth that was soft and comfortable. When I put it on, a fellow brahmacārī was fascinated by its texture and appreciatively touched it again and again, with the apparent desire to have a similar one for himself. At first, I thought it appropriate to give the cloth to him, but before I did, a thought struck my mind: “Śrīla Gurudeva has given this cloth to me with his very own hands. It is a token of his mercy. I must therefore first receive permission from him before giving it away.”
I then went to Guru Mahārāja and said, “I usually spend most of my time in Māyāpura working in construction with the laborers. There is no need for me to wear such a fine cloth; it would wear very quickly. Therefore, if you were to kindly allow, I could give this cloth to this particular brahmacārī, who seemed appreciative of it.”
Guru Mahārāja gravely replied, “No. Do not give this cloth to him. He has a taste for wearing high quality clothes. Providing him with the object of his desire will only nourish this taste and lead him further down the path of sense gratification. Being his true well-wisher, I cannot act as his enemy and encourage him to go down such a path. It is my duty to protect him from the clutches of māyā to the furthest extent possible. If this cloth becomes worn sooner with you, let it be so. But you should never become an instrument in supporting anyone’s desire for sense enjoyment.”
Providing shelter to a godbrother
After the disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda, one of his disciples, Śrīpāda Ṭhākura dāsa Prabhu, began staying in Śrī Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha’s branch in Mumbai. When he began performing sickness pastimes in his old age, the maṭha authorities told him, “We are not in a position to take any further responsibility for you.” Śrīpāda Ṭhākura dāsa Prabhu thus left for Vṛndāvana, where he stayed in a rented room near Śrī Gopeśvara Mahādeva. A devotee from Mumbai used to send a monthly donation to him.
I, too, was in Vṛndāvana in those days, engaged in the service of constructing a branch of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha. One day, a devotee informed me that Śrīpāda Ṭhākura dāsa Prabhu fell down the stairs after experiencing dizziness. I immediately sent my godbrother Śrī Vīrabhadra Prabhu, who had him admitted to Śrī Rāma Kṛṣṇa Mission Hospital. When news of this reached Guru Mahārāja, he sent a letter to me, in which he wrote, “Śrī Ṭhākura dāsa Prabhu has rendered immense service to Śrīla Prabhupāda. As per the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda, he preached together with Śrī Bhakti Sarvasva Giri Mahārāja. He used to play mṛdaṅga and perform very sweet kīrtana. Ensure that he receives good care and does not experience any discomfort. Bring him to Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha upon his discharge from the hospital. We will gladly assume the responsibility of serving him for the rest of his life.”
Following Guru Mahārāja’s instructions, I brought Śrī Ṭhākura dāsa Prabhu to our maṭha after his discharge from the hospital, and he stayed with us for the rest of his life.
Never pass up the opportunity to serve the Vaiṣṇavas
Guru Mahārāja organized a three-day festival at the Vṛndāvana branch of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha for the installation of the Deities. On the first day of the festival, a wonderful feast was arranged for all the Vaiṣṇavas from the different maṭhas in Vrṇdāvana; on the second day was a feast for the Vraja paṇḍās and their families; and on the third day was a feast for general people, and the Vaiṣṇavas and paṇḍās were again invited.
Guru Mahārāja spent more than twenty thousand rupees on the festival. In those days, one could purchase two-and-a-half kilograms of flour for one rupee. At the time, we did not have a proper kitchen in the maṭha. All the cooking was done in a room with a temporary tin shed. Seeing this situation, someone told Guru Mahārāja, “With the amount of money you spent on this festival, you could have built eight rooms in the maṭha.”
Guru Mahārāja replied, “Later, we may find so many people willing to contribute to the construction of rooms that we will run out of space in the maṭha. But the opportunity we have received to serve many senior Vaiṣṇavas at one time and in one place will never again present itself.” With this mood, Guru Mahārāja organized great festivals in many places—like Yāṣāḍā, Guwāhaṭī, Kolkata, Purī and other locations—and invited all the Vaiṣṇavas.
Acquiring the Divine Appearance Place of Śrīla Prabhupāda
When my paramārādhyatama Guru Mahārāja, came to know about the possibility of acquiring the divine appearance place of Śrīla Prabhupāda in Purī, he firstly approached Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vilāsa Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who was the presiding ācārya of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha at that time. Through Śrī Śrīmad Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, he requested him, “There is no scarcity of resources at your disposal. Please assume proprietorship of this place, so that we may all gain the fortune of visiting and offering our praṇāmas (obeisances) there without restriction.”
Śrīla Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja replied, “Śrīla Prabhupāda did not give me any specific instructions regarding the preservation of that place. Rather, he advised me to incessantly engage in the service of Śrī Māyāpura-dhāma alone, and thereby highlight the supremacy of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s teachings and Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s dhāma. Moreover, Śrīla Prabhupāda made no endeavors to acquire the appearance place of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura.”
Upon receiving Śrīla Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s reply, my Guru Mahārāja, in the company of his godbrother, Śrīpāda Jagamohana Prabhu, took me along with him as his assistant to approach Śrī Bhakti Kevala Auḍulomi Mahārāja, the then presiding ācārya of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Bāgbāzār, Kolkata, and requested him to acquire custody of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s appearance place.
Upon hearing Guru Mahārāja’s request, Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja replied, “We cannot spend such an amount of money for this. Moreover, you are known as the second-best donation collector of the Gauḍīya Maṭha, and therefore no financial constraints could stop you if you were to take charge of this responsibility.”
After their meeting, when we were returning to our maṭha in a taxi, Guru Mahārāja mentioned a Bengali proverb to Śrī Jagamohana Prabhu: “bhāgera mā gaṅgā pāye nā—a mother with many sons does not receive the fortune of having her ashes submerged in the Gaṅgā.” The logic behind this is that each of her sons will not bother arranging for their mother’s ashes to be put in the Gaṅgā, because they will assume that the other sons will do it. As a result, her ashes never reach the Gaṅgā.
Contemplating in this way, Guru Mahārāja said, “Everything will be just fine; we will try to the best of our ability to acquire this land.”
Who but ‘Mādhava?’
In those days, the disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda would gather at the maṭha of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja in Koladvīpa after completing Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā.
When my Guru Mahārāja met with his godbrothers at that time, he informed them about the opportunity to purchase the appearance place of Śrīla Prabhupāda in Jagannātha Purī, and he suggested they could purchase the land collectively.
After discussing the matter amongst themselves, a few of his godbrothers pledged whatever money they could, but the total amount was almost insignificant compared to the amount needed. Feeling perplexed about what to do, Guru Mahārāja said, “We will have to think of another way to collect the required funds.”
At that time, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vicāra Yāyāvara Gosvāmī Mahārāja mentioned one verse from the Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa:
mādhavo mādhavo vāci
mādhavo mādhavo hṛdi
smaranti mādhavaḥ sarve
sarva kāryesu mādhavam
Mādhava is in one’s words. Mādhava is in one’s heart. All saintly persons remember Mādhava, the husband of Lakṣmī (the goddess of wealth) in all their endeavors.
Although the name ‘Mādhava’ in this verse refers to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrīla Yāyāvara Gosvāmī Mahārāja spoke the verse in reference to my paramārādhyatama Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and thus implied, “Mādhava Mahārāja is in the words and hearts of his godbrothers. All his godbrothers remember Mādhava Mahārāja, because he is able to collect any amount of lakṣmī (money). All his godbrothers remember Mādhava Mahārāja in all their undertakings, and that is why anything can be accomplished when Mādhava Mahārāja is there. What is the need to rely on anyone else?”
Upon hearing this, Guru Mahārāja understood that his godbrothers were blessing him by entrusting this service to him alone, and so he offered his prostrated daṇḍavat-praṇāmas to all of them. Thus, he happily accepted the entire responsibility of acquiring Śrīla Prabhupāda’s appearance place.
Even the devotees of ISKCON, a large and resourceful organization, had lost all hope of acquiring this place after meeting with innumerable hardships and complications. My Guru Mahārāja, however, endured various physical and mental adversities in his service of acquiring this place, and after a long time of consistent effort, he came very close to succeeding in his service.
My Guru Mahārāja sent me to Purī, along with our pūjyapāda Yaśodā-jīvana Brahmacārī, pūjyapāda Ācārya Mahārāja (whose name was Gaurāṅga-prasāda Brahmacārī at the time) and others to help with acquiring the property of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s birth site. While we were there, we stayed with Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Kumuda Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja in a small house he had purchased for the purpose of converting it into a maṭha. When the time of the Ratha-yātrā festival came, I sent Gaurāṅga-prasāda Prabhu to humbly request Śrīla Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja to allow us to stay in a nearby dharmaśālā during the upcoming festival, since many of his disciples would be coming to stay with him in the small house. We could return after the festival, but we did not want to impose on Śrīla Mahārāja or his followers.
Upon hearing our request, Śrīla Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja affectionately, yet firmly, replied, “How is it possible that I can accept this? The words, ‘Yes, you can stay somewhere else,’ can never come from my mouth. Why? Because the work you have come here to do—purchasing the property of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s birth site—was actually our duty, since we are his disciples. But we have not made the slightest endeavor for that, and we see that you are very enthusiastically accomplishing this work. Therefore, it is impossible for me to accept your proposal, and I request that although we are unable to provide you with so many facilities, please make any necessary adjustments with the facilities we are capable of providing, so that you can peacefully stay with us.”
A Vaiṣṇava never considers, “This place is ours and we can manage everything. Everything should be done according to our desire.” Instead, they think, “No, this is not our place. This place belongs to the Vaiṣṇavas, and we are its members, not its owners. We will cooperate with whoever comes, accommodating them according to the available facilities.”
Determination in the face of adversity
In the meantime, Śrī Bhakti Prajñāna Yati Mahārāja, a disciple of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vilāsa Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, submitted to the authorities of DakṣiṇaPārśva Maṭha, the owners of the site of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s appearance at that time, a lengthy collection of documents and letters, asserting, “Ours is the original and real Gauḍīya Maṭha. We alone reserve the right to bear the responsibility of managing the appearance place of Śrīla Prabhupāda. The institution on whose behalf Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja has submitted his application is not the original maṭha.”
They also submitted to the High Court a petition requesting a ‘stay order’ on the transfer of rights. Guru Mahārāja was distraught to hear this news. In the beginning, before he made any independent endeavor to acquire the property, he had approached Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vilāsa Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja with a proposal. It was due only to Śrīla Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s refusal that Guru Mahārāja began soliciting his other godbrothers for help, which later lead him to accept sole responsibility for acquiring the property. At that point, after so much endeavor, it was unfeasible for him to relinquish his role in that service.
Although Guru Mahārāja was upset, he was not the slightest bit disheartened. He told me, “In the absence of this obstacle, we might have made only gradual progress in our efforts. But now, in the face of adversity, we will proceed with greater determination and make all necessary efforts to achieve success.” By the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the transfer of the property’s ownership to Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha was completed one day before the High Court was to deliberate on the stay order.
The first vyāsa-pūjā festival of Śrīla Prabhupāda at his appearance place
Under the auspices of my paramārādhyatama Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, a grand festival celebrating the 104th appearance day of Śrīla Prabhupāda was organized to be held at his appearance place on February 28, 1978. A five-day religious conference—from February 26 to March 2—was also organized for the occasion. During the festival, the foundation stone laying ceremony was performed amid tumultuous chants of śrī nāma-saṅkīrtana.
Guru Mahārāja himself wrote invitation letters to all his godbrothers, requesting them to attend the festival: “Kindly grace the occasion with your divine presence and shower your mercy upon us.” Upon receiving the invitation from Guru Mahārāja, devotees from all walks of life—sannyāsīs, brahmacārīs, vānaprasthīs, gṛhasthas and many distinguished personalities—came to take part in the occasion. A few foreign devotees were also in attendance.
Other than Guru Mahārāja and his constant companion in rendering completely dedicated service to Śrīla Prabhupāda—Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja—those present at the festival included Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Śravaṇa Trivikrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrīpāda Kṛṣṇa-keśava Brahmacārī, Śrīpāda Jagamohana Prabhu, Śrīpāda Uddhāraṇa Prabhu, Śrī Śrīmad Indupati dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and many surrendered disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the most prominent of whom were Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vicāra Yāyāvara Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Kumuda Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Kamala Madhusūdana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Saurabha Bhaktisāra Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vilāsa Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vikāśa Hṛśikeṣa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Saudha Āśrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Rāsa-bihārī dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prapanna Daṇḍī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Suhṛda Bodhāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prapanna Dāmodara Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Suvrata Paramārthī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrīpāda Dr. Śyāmasundara Brahmacārī and Śrīpāda Yatiśekhara dāsa Adhikārī.
During the five-day festival commemorating the vyāsa–pūjā of Śrīla Prabhupāda, various Vaiṣṇavas spoke on his teachings, instructions, statements, conduct, character and personality from a multitude of view-points. During that ongoing sequence of heart-touching narrations, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, with great eagerness and a heart filled with joy, said to all those present, “Now that we have been bestowed with the opportunity to construct a Gauḍīya Maṭha at the appearance place of Śrīla Prabhupāda, all his disciples will be extremely pleased to annually gather here at his birthplace in honor of his appearance day festival and at his samādhi-pīṭha in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura to honor his disappearance day festival. Of this there is no doubt.”
The distribution centers of unnatojjvāla-rasa
In Padma Purāṇa,Śrīla Vyāsadeva has stated hyutkale puruṣottamāt. By these words, he prophesized that the message of śuddha-bhakti for Kṛṣṇa, the primeval Supreme Lord, would be distributed to the whole world, and that the epicenter of this distribution would be the land of Puruṣottama, or Śrī Purī-dhāma. This prophecy was fulfilled by the appearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in that Śrī Puruṣottama-dhāma.
Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura to distribute unnatojjvala rasa (the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, or madhura-rasa), it was from Śrī Jagannātha Purī that he actually began distributing it. Having established this topmost treasure of prema in Śrī Purī-dhāma, He manifested His disappearance pastime. Some time later, Śrīla Prabhupāda appeared in Śrī Purī-dhāma and collected that divine treasure, which he then distributed to the whole world from Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, the appearance place of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Firm faith beyond external circumstances
Before we acquired the appearance place of Śrīla Prabhupāda, we would stay at various other places while visiting Purī-dhāma with our Guru Mahārāja. At that time, Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja and all the disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda would offer daṇḍavat-praṇāmas at this place from beyond the property lines, since entry was prohibited without prior permission. Although the area around the entrance gate was incredibly filthy, the disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda would still offer daṇḍavat-praṇāmas, totally oblivious to the external cleanliness of the place. Those who witnessed this were struck with great wonder and respect.
Because of the unclean condition of that place, I was hesitant to offer praṇāmas. However, upon seeing others offering praṇāmas, I would find a less grimy place and offer pañcāṅga-praṇāma (obeisances in which five parts of the body touch the ground) and quickly get up. But after repeatedly hearing about the glories of this divine place from the lotus lips of our guru-vargas, I gradually began offering aṣṭāṅga-praṇāma (prostrated obeisances in which eight parts of the body touch the ground) to that place, just as they did.
Ignoring hostility, recognizing service rendered
Śrī Śrīmad Kṛṣṇa-prema dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, was the manager of a maṭha in Mymensingh (now part of Bangladesh), and he later established an āśrama in Māyāpura. Once, when he went to the Medinīpura area for preaching, he somehow slipped and injured his tailbone.
After his injury, he sought help at our Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha branch in Kolkata on Rāsa-bihārī Avenue, which Guru Mahārāja had established in a rented home. I admitted Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja to Śambhunātha Hospital, where I knew one doctor, Dr. Brahma, who arranged for an X-ray examination of his tailbone. Later, when Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja was discharged from the hospital, he spent a few days at Ayurvedic Aṣṭāṅga Hospital, after which he returned back to his āśrama in Māyāpura. During his time under our care, we served him to the best of our abilities.
In his Māyāpura āśrama, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja would proudly proclaim, “We are the children of the lion Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. We are afraid of no one.” It also came to my attention that he had made critical remarks about Guru Mahārāja.
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja had made a deal with a worker to extract juice from the date trees growing on the property of his āśrama. As compensation for his labor, the worker would receive half of the total juice he collected. However, the worker was wicked-hearted and wanted to keep everything for himself. He told Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja, “You are a bābājī, arenounced person. Of what use is this juice to you?” When he refused to yield after repeated requests, they had heated arguments and a fierce fight. That wicked worker struck Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja very hard with a stick and badly injured him. Śrī Gaura dāsa Prabhu, a disciple of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Mahārāja, sent news to me, saying, “The lion’s child has been hit by a jackal. Please go and help him if you can.”
When I arrived at Śrīla Kṛṣṇa-prema dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s āśrama, he narrated the entire story to me. Afterward, Śrī Gaura dāsa Prabhu and I went to the police station and brought a police officer to meet Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja and resolve the issue. Later, I wrote a letter to Guru Mahārāja informing him about the incident. In his reply, he wrote, “You should serve Śrī Kṛṣna-prema dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja suitably and fulfill all his requirements by using the resources of our maṭha.”
I wrote back, “Although we previously served him nicely in Kolkata, he began making derogatory comments against you as soon as he returned to Māyāpura. He often uses bitter language, too. I have thus lost all śraddhā (faith) in him and have no inclination to serve him.”
Guru Mahārāja again sent a reply: “I will be highly pleased by your flawless service to Śrī Bābājī Mahārāja.”
I responded, “It is only for your pleasure that I shall continue to serve him and do my very best to satisfy him without making any mistakes. However, it will not be possible for me to serve him with my full heart.”
On the order of Guru Mahārāja, I served Śrīla Kṛṣṇa-prema dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, who eventually recovered from his injuries. Later, he wrote a letter to Guru Mahārāja stating, “Although with a bitter tongue I have spoken disrespectfully to your disciples, they served me very sincerely with full efforts. I wish to handover my Māyāpura āśrama to you. I request you to kindly accept it.”
I read Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s letter to Guru Mahārāja, who dictated his reply for me to transcribe: “You have written that you wish to offer your Māyāpura āśrama to me, but we already have a maṭha in Māyāpura. I do not wish to have two establishments at one place. Please offer your āśrama to another godbrother of ours who does not have a maṭha in Māyāpura. Please know that it was not out of a desire to own your āśrama that we served you. Truthfully, I have no interest in taking your āśrama. It is only because you possess deep, unflinching faith in Śrīla Prabhupāda that you are an object of our most sincere service.”
As I listened to Guru Mahārāja’s dictation, my hand stopped writing and tears flowed from my eyes. I was reminded of a verse written by Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī:
prabhu kahe—bhaṭṭācārya, karaha vicāra
gurura kiṅkara haya mānya se āmarā
Śrī Caitanya-caitāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 10.142)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “O Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, consider this: the servant of the guru is always respectable for me.”
Upon hearing my paramārādhyatama Guru Mahārāja glorifying a godbrother who had previous criticized him, I realized that the true meaning of Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s words was manifesting in front of me. Although I had previously read this verse many times, I had not experienced its actual meaning until that moment.
Upon remembering this incident, another consideration about Guru Mahārāja’s most exemplary conduct comes to my mind: he never thought it necessary to respond to anyone’s hostile behavior toward him. Instead, he always considered those who nurture deep, sincere devotion to the lotus feet of Śrīla Prabhupāda as respectable and worthy of his most sincere service.
Nowadays, however, this type of vision is lacking among many devotees. In fact, the opposite consideration is mostly seen: “It does not matter how closely and to what extent one may have previously served his gurudeva and guru-vargas. If presently such a devotee is not favorable toward me or does not support me in spite of my countless faults, then what is the need for me to serve him? Why should I maintain any relationship with him? In fact, he is an offender unworthy of being served.”
Serving his detractors
Śrī Śrīmad Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, used to reside at Śrī Caitanya Maṭha in Māyāpura. Once, when Guru Mahārāja was engaged in the service of preaching in Nawab-gañja, a small town near Kolkata, Śrīla Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, with concealed intentions, cunningly told all the renunciate disciples of Guru Mahārāja, “Your Guru Mahārāja has sent a message ordering you all to immediately pack your bags and depart for Nawab-gañja. He requires the assistance of many devotees to hold a large nagara-saṅkīrtana there. After his preaching in Nawab-gañja, he will proceed on a long preaching tour to many distant places, and you shall all accompany him.”
Hearing his words, Śrī Bhagavān dāsa (now pūjyapāda Bhakti Niketana Turyāśramī Mahārāja), pūjyapāda Āśrama Mahārāja and many other renunciant disciples of Guru Mahārāja immediately left Māyāpura for Nawab-gañja. Upon their arrival, Guru Mahārāja asked, “Why have you come here? I have not called for you.” After hearing the whole story, he realized the truth behind Śrī Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s intentions.
With all the devotees present, the nagara-saṅkīrtana was a great success. Later, Guru Mahārāja went to Kolkata on his own and arranged for a rented house. He then called for all the devotees who had come to Nawab-gañja, telling them to come and stay with him. There, they were all engaged in service.
Śrī Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja eventually moved to Śrī Puruoṣottama Gauḍīya Maṭha, the Purī branch of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, despite the fact that he would often tell people, “I have little faith in the devotees residing in Śrī Caitanya Maṭha.” Because of this lack of trust, he would give all the donations he received to the disciples of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vilāsa Gabhastinemi Gosvāmī Mahārāja for safekeeping.
Once, Śrīla Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja underwent eye surgery at the District Hospital in Purī. While there, he sent a message through a devotee for Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prapanna Daṇḍī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and me, requesting us to meet him. When we arrived at the hospital, he told me, “I am in need of two devotees to stay and look after me while I am in the hospital—one in the daytime and one in the night. Please arrange this for me.” I thus requested my godbrothers Śrī Lakhana Prabhu and Śrī Yaśodā-jīvana Prabhu to serve Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja during the day and night, respectively.
When I wrote a letter to Guru Mahārāja informing him about this matter, he replied, “I am highly pleased to hear that you are all properly serving him. Because he is connected to Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrī Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja is worthy of our service. Please use the resources of our maṭha to see that all his requirements are met during his stay in the hospital. I am fully aware of the dire financial position of the Purī maṭha, and will be sending you funds very soon.”
As per the desire of Guru Mahārāja, we arranged for Śrīla Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s prasāda from our maṭha, as well as everything else he required. When Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja was released from the hospital, he did not go back to Śrī Puruṣottama Gauḍīya Maṭha, but rather expressed his desire to stay with us in our Purī branch of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha. In the maṭha,a new room with an attached bathroom had recently been built for Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Gosvāmī Mahārāja during his attendance of the śrīvyāsa-pūjā celebrations of Śrīla Prabhupāda. We arranged for Śrīla Guru dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja to stay in that very room.
After the surgery, Bābājī Mahārāja prescribed black glasses, which made it difficult for him to see. Once, while honoring prasāda in the maṭha, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja came across Bhagavān dāsa, but because his black glasses obscured his vision, he could not make out who was in front of him. He asked, “Who are you?”
Bhagavān dāsa replied, “I am the very same Bhagavān dāsa whom you cunningly drove out of Śrīvāsa-aṅgana in Māyāpura.”
Hearing his harsh words, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja turned to Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prapanna Daṇḍī Gosvāmī Mahārāja and said, “Just see how bitterly this brahmacārī is speaking to me. Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja would never use such words.”
Śrīla Daṇḍī Gosvāmī Mahārāja replied, “Bābājī Mahārāja, It is certainly true that Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja would never speak in such a manner; he is a pure, realized Vaiṣṇava. But there is gulf of a difference between the positions of Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja and Bhagavān dāsa. Why do you expect there not to be a visible difference in their words, as well? Moreover, Bhagavān dāsa has not said anything untrue.”
The import of this narration is that whenever the opportunity presented itself, Guru Mahārāja eagerly rendered service even to those who were against him. He served such persons not only on his own, but he engaged his disciples in their service, also.
Dancing and singing for the pleasure of Bhagavān alone
Once, Śrī Guru Mahārāja went to preach in Amritsar, where his hari-kathā was arranged to take place in a temple situated in Namak Maṇḍi. One day, after speaking hari-kathā, Guru Mahārāja took darśana of the temple’s very beautiful Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Deities, whose attractive forms acted as uddīpana, or stimulus that awakened kṛṣṇa-prema in his heart. Absorbed in this kṛṣṇa-prema, Guru Mahārāja became completely unaware of his surroundings and began ecstatically dancing and performing kīrtana for a long time.
Upon seeing Guru Mahārāja’s divine bodily features—which are found only on the bodies of mahā-puruṣas (great personalities)—and gestural dancing, all the devotees and visitors were left spellbound.
The next day, anticipating a repeat performance of Guru Mahārāja’s kīrtana anddancing, the organizers arranged special spotlighting and beautiful decorations to be placed before the Deities, where Guru Mahārāja had danced the previous day. When Guru Mahārāja’s hari-kathā ended, that area was immediately cordoned off. The temple was overcrowded, because those who were fortunate enough to have witnessed Guru Mahārāja’s kīrtana the previous day had brought with them many other people. But on that day, when Guru Mahārāja concluded his hari-kathā, he left the temple immediately after reciting the jaya-dhvani.
A similar incident happened in Sahāranapura, as well. One day Guru Mahārāja performed an ecstatic kīrtana and danced in complete bliss. The next day, the news spread everywhere that his dancing and kīrtana were heart-warming, and so everyone was eager to witness them. Many people assembled at the venue the next day. When Guru Mahārāja was told that many people had come simply to witness his dancing and kīrtana, and that they would feel blessed if he could begin the programs with that, he said “Sādhus and Vaiṣṇavas do not engage in dancing and kīrtana for the pleasure and entertainment of ordinary people. Rather, they do so purely with the intention of serving Bhagavān. If one performs kīrtana to satisfy ordinary people, he may develop affection or attachment for them, but it can never be considered hari-bhakti. Dancing or performing kīrtana with desire to acquire the recognition and praise of misguided individuals is in fact no better than the stool of hogs, and it is completely unfavorable for hari-bhakti.In reality, such dancing and kīrtana falls within the category of traiyātrika, or the performance of materialistic dance, singing and playing of musical instruments.”
The whole world can be sacrificed for rāma-nāma
Once, Guru Mahārāja preached in Guwahati, Assam, in the company of many other devotees, the most prominent of whom were Śrīpāda Kṛṣṇa-keśava Prabhu and Śrīpāda Cintāharana Pāṭagiri Prabhu, both of whom were Assamese disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda who knew the local language. As per the instruction of Guru Mahārāja, the two met with deśa-priya Śrī Gopīnātha Bordoloi—the then Chief Minister of Assam who was an object of affection for the country’s citizens—to invite him to hear bhāgavata-kathā at Guru Mahārāja’s program.
During the meeting, Śrī Bordoloi first asked them to introduce themselves, their organization and the reason for their visit. After their introduction, he asked, “You are both Assamese. Why then have not accepted the principles of śrī bhāgavata-dharma as preached in Assam by Śrī Śaṅkara-deva, Śrī Dāmodara-deva and others? Why have you instead accepted the teachings of Śrīman Caitanyadeva from Bengal?”
Śrīpāda Cintāharana Prabhu requested Śrīpāda Kṛṣṇa-keśava Prabhu to kindly answer Śrī Bordoloi, and Śrīpāda Kṛṣṇa-keśava Prabhu obliged: “Respected Mr. Bordoloi, if I may, I would like to preface my reply to your question with a brief question of my own. You, too, are Assamese, and you belong to a brāhmaṇa family. Why then did you consider it appropriate to attend Oxford University in England, accept Englishmen as your teachers (gurus) and follow their teachings, when they use paper to clean themselves after passing stool instead of following the proper practice of using water? What more should I speak about their lack of etiquette?
“On the other hand, Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma has long been famous as the Oxford of India, and scholars from even Assam have regularly visited Navadvīpa-dhāma for higher education. We therefore fail to understand the inherent fault in our following of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
Śrī Gopinātha Bordoloi was rendered speechless. Śrīpāda Kṛṣṇa-keśava Prabhu and Śrīpāda Cintāharana Pāṭagiri Prabhu left his office and returned to Guru Mahārāja. When they arrived back at Guru Mahārāja’s quarters, they were greatly surprised to see to Śrī Borodoloi sitting next to Guru Mahārāja. They realized he had come by car while they travelled by rikshaw.
At that time, kīrtana was being performed in the hall. After kīrtana, Guru Mahārāja spoke hari-kathā, which was followed by mahā-mantra kīrtana. Later, while speaking with Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Borodoloi said, “Your method of preaching is very similar to that of Mahātmā Gāndhī; he performs rāma-dhuna before and after lectures, and you perform saṅkīrtana before and after hari-kathā.”
Guru Mahārāja immediately replied, “When I read in the Congress mouthpieceYoung India about Śrī Mahātmā Gāndhī’s statement, ‘I can sacrifice even rāma-dhuna for my country,’ I concluded that his conceptions are vertically opposed to those of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, who firmly believe that even the whole world can be sacrificed for rāma-nāma, what to speak of one country. Rāma, being the Absolute Truth, is for Himself and by Himself, and every object is meant for His service. Even Western scholars accept that the Absolute is for Itself and by Itself.”
Śrī Gopinātha Borodoloi became highly inspired by the deep-rooted, subtle views of Guru Mahārāja. After this incident, he often visited to hear Guru Mahārāja’s hari-kathā and honor prasāda with all of us. He also many times expressed his desire to abandon his active social life, accept sannyāsa and stay always in the association of Guru Mahārāja. His fellow Congress party members, however, would tell him, “If you accept sannyāsa, then our position in Assam will rapidly deteriorate.” After a short time, Śrī Gopinātha Borodolai left this world.
The recipient of his godbrothers’ trust
Some time after Guru Mahārāja’s disappearance from the vision of this world, Śrīpāda Girendra-govardhana Prabhu, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, was forced to take shelter in the house of one of his disciples, because he had no personal assistants to serve him. Once, while speaking about Śrī Girendra-govardhana Prabhu, Śrīla Paramārthī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, another disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, sorrowfully and tearfully said, “If Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja had still been physically present in this world, Śrī Girendra-govardhana Prabhu would not have been forced to stay in the house of his disciple, because Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja would have certainly arranged for him to stay in his maṭha under the care of his disciples.”
This incident demonstrates the grief Guru Mahārāja’s godbrothers experienced after his departure and the great trust they had for him to look after the wellbeing of their other godbrothers.
Der Empfänger des Vertrauens seiner Gottbrüder
Einige Zeit nach Guru Mahārājas Verschwinden aus der Vision dieser Welt wurde Śrīpāda Girendra-govardhana Prabhu, ein Schüler von Śrīla Prabhupāda, gezwungen im Haus eines seiner Schüler Zuflucht zu suchen da er keine persönlichen Assistenten hatte die ihm dienten. Als Śrī Girendra-govardhana Prabhu einmal Śrīla Paramārthī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, ein anderer Schüler von Śrīla Prabhupāda, einmal sagte: “Wenn Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja noch physisch in dieser Welt gegenwärtig wäre, wäre Śrī Girendra-govardhana Prabhu nicht gezwungen gewesen im Haus seines Schülers zu bleiben, Śrī Mādhava Mahārāja hatte bestimmt dafür gesorgt das er unter der Obhut seiner Jünger in seiner Maṭha bleiben kann. ”
Dieser Vorfall zeigt die Trauer, die Guru Mahārājas Gottbrüder nach seinem Verscheiden empfanden und das große Vertrauen das sie in ihn hatten um sich um das Wohlergehen seiner anderen Gottbrüder zu kümmern.
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