[Excerpted from “My Beloved Masters” by Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja]
Extraordinary instances of an extraordinary personality
My śikṣā-guru, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, used to say, “When I was in my mother’s womb, a renounced person came to our house and gave my mother a sweet, which she accepted and ate. According to her, this was the reason why I never had any material desires, why I always wanted to become renounced, and why I came to Śrīla Prabhupāda at a very young age.”
When Śrīla Maharāja was a baby, a large bird took him in the sky and brought him back. Such events can never happen to ordinary persons; they are indicative of extraordinary personalities.
His patha-pradarśaka gurus
Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja made his divine appearance in the village of Vānarīpāḍā, within the district of Variśāla, Bangladesh. He belonged to a family of wealthy landowners. When he was young, his paternal aunts Śrī Sarojinī dāsī and Śrī Priyatamā dāsī brought him to meet Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Because Śrī Priyatamā dāsī left her body early on, we generally hear more about Śrī Sarojinī dāsī in the narration of Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s life story.
A jewel among sevakas
In the beginning of his maṭha life, Śrīla Mahārāja was known as Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī, and Śrīla Prabhupāda later awarded him with the title ‘Kṛti-ratna,’ a designation by which he became well-known. Kṛti means ‘activity,’ and ratna means ‘jewel,’ and therefore the title ‘Kṛti-ratna’ refers to a personality who is expert in performing activities related to the service of guru and Vaiṣṇavas, and who considers such activities his life and soul. This title rightly befitted Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī, as he was a jewel among sevakas.
Reconciling seemingly conflicting instructions
When Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī accepted the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrīla Prabhupāda at an early age, he stayed as a brahmacārī in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura. One day, after receiving a letter from Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s mother, Śrīla Prabhupāda ordered Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī to pay her a visit at home. Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī meditated sincerely on what to do. On one side wasa teaching he had previously received from Śrīla Prabhupāda:
sakala janme pitā-mātā sabe pāya
kṛṣṇa guru nāhi mile, bhajahô hiyāya
Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala (Madhya-khaṇḍa)
One gets a mother and father in every species of life. But it is rare to get a bonafide guru and Kṛṣṇa. One must realize this in the core of one’s heart.
On the other side was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s order to visit his mother.
While contemplating these seemingly conflicting instructions, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī considered that the former instruction reflected Śrīla Prabhupāda’s internal mood based on unbiased truth, and that the latter was possibly given to examine him or his dedication to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī concluded, “Śrī guru would never ask a disciple to maintain worldly relations, through which the disciple becomes bound by the ropes of attachment. Instead, he always instructs his disciples to realize their relationship with the eternal entity, Śrī Bhagavān. Therefore, I will follow Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instruction to realize the rarity of attaining the association of śrī guru. I will refrain from visiting my mother’s home. By doing so, I will not be disobeying Śrīla Prabhupāda. In fact, he will be more pleased than if I were to carry out his immediate order of visiting my home.”
Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s instinct to please his gurudeva by remaining in the maṭha was correct, and thus Śrīla Prabhupāda bestowed his mercy on him.
Serving through generosity
Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s father was a wealthy landlord, and he was therefore accustomed to lavish spending during his time at home. After accepting the shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda and joining the maṭha, he was given the service of managing the properties of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, which required him to visit various properties in Māyāpura on horseback. Just seeing him made the residents fearful. Whenever he would cross the Gaṅgā, he would pay the boatman not by counting the exact fare, but by reaching into his pocket and offering whatever he pulled out. All the boatmen would beg him, “O Vinoda Bābū, please come with me! Let me take you across in my boat.”
A devotee once complained to Śrīla Prabhupāda, “We labor arduously to collect donations for the maṭha, but Vinoda-bihārī Prabhu needlessly spends those hard-earned funds to pay people much more than they are owed. He pays no heed to the amount he gives. Is this proper?”
Śrīla Prabhupāda asked that devotee, “How much money did you spend daily when you were living at home?”
“One paisā,” the devotee answered.
“And how much do you spend now?”
The devotee sheepishly replied, “About ten paisā.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Vinoda-bihārī used to spend approximately one hundred rupees daily, and now he spends about five rupees. Which of you, then, is truly renounced?”
Those who lacked proper vision saw that Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī was wasting donations meant for the service of Śrī Hari, guru and Vaiṣnavas. But Śrīla Prabhupāda understood his actual intentions. Through his generosity, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī was creating allies who would support Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha in case of any future opposition.
An active response to a passive inquiry
Śrī Vindoa-bihārī Brahmacārī always did whatever was required for the service of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Once, Śrīla Prabhupāda unemphatically asked him, “Are we unable to acquire Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s bhajana-kuṭīra in Godrumadvipa?” Although the question was passive, it held great gravity for Śrī Vindoa-bihārī Brahmacārī. He found himself unable to remain peaceful as long as he had not acquired that property. Such was his service mood for Śrīla Prabhupāda. In addition to Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s bhajana-kuṭīra, he also successfully acquired the place of Chand Kazi and many other places in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura.
Protecting devotees from violent offenders
In addition to managing the Śrī Caitanya Maṭha’s properties, Śrī Vindoa-bihārī Brahmacārī was given the service of managing the institution’s court cases. Muslims in those days were occupying many holy places of Māyāpura, including Candraśekhara-bhavana, Śrīvāsa-aṅgana, Śrīdhara-kholaveca’s residence and Chand Kāzī’s samādhi. One day, the Muslims occupying Chand Kāzī’s samādhi beat a few brahmacārīs from Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī was unable to tolerate this violent behavior toward devotees. Being protective, he filed a court case on behalf of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, and some of the Muslims were put into jail as a result.
Śrīla Prabhupāda did not appreciate that the Muslims were jailed. He said, “We should oppose the unrighteous activities being performed rather than the people performing them. We should not look to punish people by putting them in jail, but rather by boldly standing up for the principles we uphold and speaking out against unrighteous activities.” Thus, on the order of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the devotees posted the Muslims’ bail.
Risking his life to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda
In his time, Śrīla Prabhupāda fearlessly preached against many of the practices and beliefs of the apasampradāyas (deviated philosophical lineages) claiming to be in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He loudly declared that it was immoral to charge pilgrims for having darśana of Bhagavān’s deity and erroneous to consider that brāhmaṇas are the only qualified candidates for the position of guru. His dissemination of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s true Gauḍīya doctrine contradicted and challenged the tainted philosophies of these bogus sects, and thus jeopardized their donations and sense of prestige. As Śrīla Prabhupāda’s fame and influence continued to spread, these groups grew increasingly envious.
During the Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā of 1925, Śrīla Prabhupāda led a group of about five thousand pilgrims and one hundred eight mṛdaṅga players. At the front of the massive parikramā party was a band and the deity of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, who rode magnificently atop an elephant. The antagonists from the envious apasampradāyas descended upon the parikramā procession at Prauḍhāmāyā Talā with the wicked intention of taking Śrīla Prabhupāda’s life.
Sensing the immense danger his gurudeva was in, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī did not hesitate to act. He quickly escorted Śrīla Prabhupāda to a safe place, where he then brilliantly exchanged his white clothes for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s saffron-colored garments and arranged for him to be sent back to the maṭha with a few other devotees. Posing as Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī then waited out the attack at great risk to his life.
Meanwhile, Śrī Paramānanda Brahmacārī, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s personal sevaka, disguised himself as a local, so that nobody would recognize him as a Gauḍīya Maṭha devotee. Replacing his dhotī with a gamacha and carrying a hookah, he went to the police station to report the attack. Police officials soon arrived on the scene and the crowds dispersed.
Just as a person instinctively raises his arm to protect himself from an aggressor’s blows, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī—who was a limb of and non-different from Śrīla Prabhupāda—reflexively protected his gurudeva from not only this vengeful physical attack, but also from philosophical attacks. Through his bold and tenacious preaching, he fearlessly defended Śrīla Prabhupāda’s philosophical conclusions.
Firm faith in Śrīla Prabhupāda, the emissary of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
In several places, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written that it is unnecessary to construct temples or maṭhas, as such activities inevitably lead to court cases in which the members of an institution will fight for its various properties and assets. Yet, we see on the other hand that Śrīla Prabhupāda constructed many maṭhas. We should not, however, conclude that Śrīla Prabhupāda ignored the instructions of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Rather, we should understand he perfectly executed Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s will.
As an intimate associate of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Prabhupāda understood the Ṭhākura’s heart. Therefore, he could easily comprehend the subtle reasoning and implications behind every one of his instructions. Every teaching has both positive and negative aspects. In describing the establishment of spiritual institutions to be unnecessary or even unfavorable, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura warned of the negative result of such endeavors. But this does not mean the establishment of spiritual institutions is without positive aspects. Śrīla Prabhupāda understood that even at the cost of potential infighting, the construction of a maṭha will be successful if but one of its residents sincerely progresses on the path of pure devotion to Bhagavān.
All the devotees of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission, including Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī, worked hard to acquire land and construct and maintain maṭhas. They never once questioned Śrīla Prabhupāda’s allegiance to properly carrying out Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s instructions. They firmly believed that the words and activities of Śrīla Prabhupāda were in line with the teachings of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and that Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s approval was with him.
Exposing an incompetent leader
After the disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura, the time came to select a new President-ācārya of the Gauḍīya Maṭha. Guru Mahārāja believed Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja to be the worthiest candidate. However, in due time, Śrī Ananta-vāsudeva Prabhu was unanimously appointed to the position, with Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī serving as Secretary.
When Śrī Ananta-vāsudeva Prabhu’s ill repute came to light, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī called for Guru Mahārāja and said, “Hayagrīva Prabhu! We have stuck our hands in wet stool. Had it been dry, it would not have been so revoltingly foul-smelling. But unfortunately, the reality is that its stench and repulsiveness are excessive. We must feel remorse and atone for having supported Ananta-vāsudeva and for having taken so long to understand what was actually going on. An incompetent person should be helped, but an incompetent person who makes fools of the general public by playing the part of a competent leader must be shunned. Let us help the people of the world by exposing this person, so that everyone may see his true nature.
“Because of your refined, gentle Vaiṣṇava temperament, everyone considers you a friend and gives importance to what you say. Therefore, please bring everyone together and arrange a meeting, so that we may together determine how to oppose him.”
As per Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s request, Guru Mahārāja gathered their godbrothers together and held a meeting, whereupon it was decided to file a court case against Śrī Ananta-vāsudeva Prabhu. It was this court case that made it possible for the Gauḍīya Maṭha to legally split into two factions.
His intolerance of even the slightest deviation
Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s preaching inspired his elder brother to take shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda and join the maṭha. When Śrīla Prabhupāda ordered his brother to accept sannyāsa, he was unwilling. Although Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī was younger, he chastised his older brother, saying, “Why are you not fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda’s desire to give you sannyāsa?” After considering these words of encouragement, his brother agreed to accept sannyāsa, and he became known as Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Kevala Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
Some time after the disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja observed Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers deviating from the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda in three ways: (1) they taught that the hare kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is not to be chanted loudly, but rather silently in such a way that no one can hear the sound vibration; (2) although Śrīla Prabhupāda had personally initiated some of his disciples, including Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja, into the sannyāsa order, they gave up their saffron sannyāsa-veśa (dress) and instead wore white bābājī-veśa, preaching that sannyāsa-dharma is strictly prohibited in Kali-yuga; and (3) although Śrīla Prabhupāda personally established Śrī Navadvīpa parikramā, they rejected its performance.
Unable to tolerate even the slightest deviation from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja completely severed his relationship with Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and those who followed him. He would never allow his disciples to go to Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha or to any other place where Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers resided. If Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja were to discover that one of his disciples went to Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja’s maṭha, he would order that devotee to fast for three days, taking only pañca-gavya (the five products of the cow—milk, yogurt, ghee, dung and urine) as his atonement. He would say, “Why have you gone there? You are now impure; you must purify yourself by performing this atonement.”
Finally, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja decided to file a case against Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers, boldly announcing that because they did not accept many of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, they could not be considered his true disciples, and consequently should not be allowed to reside in his maṭhas.
My Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja,gave me the service of transcribing Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s dictations regarding the court case. I would then take those dictations to Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who would adjust the language and edit for clarity. When everything was complete, I would go to the court and submit the finalized documents.
The day the judge was to present the verdict, Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers appeared in court wearing saffron sannyāsa-veśa and were followed by a large procession loudly chanting the mahā-mantra. Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja had given eight people sannyāsa just that day.
In front of the judge, they said, “We are doing Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā, wearing saffron dress, and carrying our sannyāsa-daṇḍas. Also, we have established a maṭha in the name of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and have established his mūrti (deity form) in the maṭha we are constructing in Godrumadvīpa.”
Although previously they had no plans of having a maṭha in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s name or keeping his mūrti there, feeling threatened by the bold endeavors of Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, they named their maṭha Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Maṭha. They denied all the allegations put forth by Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and audaciously said, “Just see! We are chanting loudly, wearing sannyāsa dress, and we have named our maṭha after Śrīla Prabhupāda. How can he claim we are not disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda?”
Seeing this to be true, the judge awarded the decision in favor of Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his followers. It appeared as though Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja had been defeated. I pleaded, “Many of your godbrothers were involved in building this case for a long time. I too labored so much in transcribing your dictations, going to Śrīla Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja for editing and providing information to the court. Now that we have lost the case, will you not appeal the judge’s verdict?”
Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja replied, “We will proceed further only if they again go against Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings.” He then asked, “How many punches can you tolerate?”
I replied, “Not even a single punch. I would strongly object to being punched.”
Śrīla Mahārāja asked, “And how many could you tolerate if your hands and legs were tied with ropes?”
I replied, “I would be forced to tolerate however many were given.”
“In the same way, whenever someone makes mistakes and goes against the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda, we will bind their hands and beat them to our fullest capacity until they accept those teachings.” He then explained, “My only desire was for them to again follow the line of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and we see that they are now doing this. They are now wearing sannyāsa dress, awarding sannyāsa to others and loudly chanting the hare kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This was my objective. In this way, we were victorious. Our fight was not for anything other than establishing the proper siddhānta (conclusive truths) and reconnecting them with Śrīla Prabhupāda.”
Even now, all of Śrīla Auḍulomi Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s followers and devotees of Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha accept sannyāsa, perform Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā, loudly chant mahā-mantra, and perform harināma-saṅkīrtana. This is all due to the mercy of Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
“We are not here to deal in real estate”
While Śrīla Prabhupāda was physically present, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī desired to buy a piece of Muslim-owned land adjacent to Śrīvāsa-aṅgana, which was owned by Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. The Muslims owners, however, refused to sell that land to Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, as they were envious of the organization’s growing influence in Māyāpura. After some disagreements following Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī officially separated from Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, moved to Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma and formed Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti. After accepting sannyāsa, he became known as Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. After hearing of his recent departure from Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, and in an attempt to sabotage the institution, the Muslim owners then became very happy to sell the land to Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
As soon as the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha came to know Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja had acquired that land, they broke its boundary wall and claimed it to be part of their property.
When I mentioned this to Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja, he laughed and said, “That is quite fine. When Śrīla Prabhupāda was here, I wanted to purchase that land and take it from the Muslims. It irritated me that we owned all the surrounding property except for this small piece of land, which was owned by people performing activities against bhakti. I did not purchase this land for my own enjoyment, but for the service of Śrīla Prabhupāda. There is no harm if Śrī Caitanya Maṭha claimsit. Rather, I am fortunate that they have taken it for the service of Śrīla Prabhupāda.”
He then asserted, “We are not here to deal in real estate. Our only duty is to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda and the Vaiṣṇavas.”
“We have not joined the maṭha to accrue property”
A similar incident happened after Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance. The devotees of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha wanted to sell a property they owned that had a mango orchid. The property was at a place called Rāutalā in Śrī Navadvīpa. Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja, however, opposed the sale and filed a court case against them. Being unable to use his own name to file the court case because he had been previously jailed due to false accusations made against him, he instead filed it under the name of his godbrothers Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Vijñāna Āśrama Gosvāmī Maharāja and Śrī Khagena Prabhu. However, when devotees from Śrī Caitanya Maṭha came to testify in court, they insisted they never intended on selling that property, and that they had no intentions of selling it in the future. They also presented the court with a written statement to this effect. Hearing this, the judge threw out the case and noted in the record that the land will never be sold.
Because I was extremely junior to Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja, I initially possessed a respectful fear of him and never asked him any questions. But as I continued my daily transcription service with him, that fear gradually faded.
When I expressed my disappointment at losing the court case despite our best efforts and after incurring considerable debt, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja said, “You are very young. You cannot understand anything.”
I was puzzled by his reply. “I don’t understand,” I told him.
He then explained, “Although legally it may seem that we have lost and they have won, in reality it is we who have won and they who have lost.”
This only confused me more. “Again, I don’t understand. How could we have won when the case was thrown out?”
Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja said, “Apparently I have to be explicit for you to understand. Listen, we have not joined the maṭha to accrue property. This court case was not about land. It was about principle. This land belonged to Śrīla Prabhupāda, and he wanted it to be used for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mission. As a result of our court case, they have submitted a formal document to the court stating that they will never sell it. They are now bound by law to keep the land. Therefore, we have won and they have lost.”
The lion-like ācārya
Although Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja appeared thin and frail, he was as fierce as a lion in his conduct and his dedication to Śrīla Prabhupāda. When he manifested his sickness pastimes, Guru Maharāja and Śrī Jaga-mohana Prabhu visited him, taking me with them as their sevaka. During their visit, Guru Maharāja asked Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja “How will we continue with these court cases if you are manifesting sickness pastimes?”
Although Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja appeared to be very ill, his response was so powerful that it continues to resonate in my ears even to this day. He said, “No matter what happens to me, the residents of the maṭha must continue these court cases, otherwise they will have no right to stay in the maṭha.”
Concerned only for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission, not profit or loss
In its early days, Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha in Navadvīpa consisted of only two rooms: one for Ṭhākura-jī and one for Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja and his sevaka. Although his possessions were few and his funds were meager, he was the first person to initiate an annual parikramā of Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma separate from Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. He took out loans from various individuals to facilitate the parikramā and welcomed as many pilgrims as possible, without asking anyone for an attendance fee. He was unconcerned with profit and loss; his only concern was to continue Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission. Such was his elevated consciousness.
Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja used to say, “Although many people stayed with Śrīla Prabhupāda during the maṭha’s earliest days, he never ordered any of them to beg alms. The devotees were served through whatever donations donors gave of their own accord. Because of a dearth in provisions, for lunch prasāda, everyone would get a single bowl of rice and wild greens. When we performed parikramā with Śrīla Prabhupāda, everyone stayed under trees. Śrīla Prabhupāda knows our current condition, so he is sending many things. Now when we perform parikramā, we stay under large tents and serve large amounts of prasāda to the pilgrims.”
Although in reality he did not have much and had to borrow money to host parikramās, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja indubitably saw Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy everywhere and genuinely never felt any lacking.
Pilgrimages by private train
Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Maharāja was the first person in Gauḍīya Maṭha history to organize parikramās of the holy places in India. He would book a private train and lead pilgrims on tours of North India, South India and other places around the country. The private train had two sections: one for cooking and one for cleaning and other services. The parikramā party would stop wherever they wanted for as long as they desired before moving on to the next place.
A Glimpse into Transcendental Affection and Relationships
[The following is a letter written by Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja in 1988 on the occasion of the disappearance day of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, in which he has expressed his heartfelt humility in separation from his godbrother. The English translation presented here was first published in Rays of the Harmonist (Volume 9, Winter 2001).]
All Glory to Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga Śrī Gopināṭha Gauḍīya Maṭha ISHODYAN P.O. Śrī Māyāpura Dt. Nadia (W.B.) Pin . 741313
Tridanḍi-bhikṣu Śrī Bhakti Promoda Purī
Dated: 26/10/1988
This is a humble submission by this fallen dāsānudāsa jīva at the lotus feet of nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa parama-pujanīya tridaṇḍi-gosvāmī Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, on the occasion of his tirobhāva-tithi-pūjā.
Pūjyapāda Mahārāja,
Today is your aprakaṭa-tithi-pūjā (Disappearance Day). However, you are a nītyā-jāna, an eternal associate of Paramārādhya Śrī Guru-pāda-pādma, and you are absorbed in his eternal service. You are aprakaṭa, but you have nonetheless manifested your nityā prakaṭa-līlā at your dearmost place, Śrīdhāma Navadvīpa-Māyāpura. There, at Śrī Caitanya Maṭha in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, you are overwhelmed in the bliss of eternal service to Paramarādhya Śrī Śrīla Prabhupāda. This place is the birthplace of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, and is non-different from Śrī Vṛndāvana. Your most beloved godbrother Śrī Śrīla Narahari Dā is also engaged there in the eternal service of Śrīla Prabhupāda, as your prominent assistant.
Both of you blessed this fallen younger godbrother of yours at the beginning of his maṭha life with your affection, and he received the opportunity to serve the lotus feet of Śrīla Prabhupāda in the guidance of your śrī caraṇa throughout the three periods of the day for many years. Those were the days when you profusely encouraged your unqualified, fallen brother in sevā, by fully opening the shower of the unlimited storehouse of your affection. At that time I became bound byyour affection and made up my mind to pass my whole life in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura serving Śrīla Prabhupāda. However, by the will of providence, I had to live in Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Bāgbāzār, Kolkata, for a long time. Then, after the disappearance pastime of Śrīla Prabhupāda, I resided at Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha, Calcutta, established by our godbrother, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa Śrīmad Bhakti Dāyita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
In the last part of my life, I have once again come to Śrī Gopināṭha Gauḍīya Maṭha at Iśodyāna, Śrīdhāma Māyāpura. I have been staying here for the last eight months. Unfortunately, here, too, I am passing my time in great distress, being devoid of the saṅga of genuine bhajana-vijña Vaiṣṇavas (Vaiṣṇavas who are well-versed in the art of bhajana). Therefore, afflicted with this grief, I am praying today at your śrīpāda-pādma (lotus feet): O adośa-darśi Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura (who does not look at the faults of others), please do not forget your unfortunate younger brother. Despite remaining unmanifest, please always shower the nectar of your affection upon him as you used to do before.
At Katwā you accepted the tridaṇḍa sannyāsa-veśa from nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa parama-pūjyapāda tridaṇḍi-yati Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja. At that time, this fallen one was also present there. I think that, by the desire of pujyapāda Śrīdhara Mahārāja, I lit the sacrificial fire. During your manifest pastimes, I occasionally had the good fortune to have your saṅga at places like Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha in Navadvīpa, Chuṅchurā Maṭha, and Calcutta.
Today, I have become completely helpless here. I entered the ninety-first year of my life last 15 October 1988, and I have now become incapable. I cannot willfully go from one place to another to have the saṅga of the śuddha-bhaktas, and thus I feel myself cheated of such fortune. In this state, please protect the spiritual life of this fallen younger brother of yours. Although you remain hidden from our sight, in this state, please protect the spiritual life of this fallen younger brother of yours by nourishing him with the stream of the nectar of your affection.Today, my heartfelt solicitation at your lotus feet is this: O adoṣadarśī vaiṣṇava-pravara, by your own magnanimous qualities, please rectify all my known and unknown faults and discrepancies, and bestow upon me the adhikāra to engage in the nityā-sevā of Śrī Śrīla Prabhupāda. This is my sole submission at your lotus feet at this auspicious moment of your Disappearance Day.
Vaiṣṇava-dāsānudāsa,
Śrī Bhakti Pramoda Purī
Glorification of Pūjyapāda Keśava Mahārāja
Composed under the editorship of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja
The appearance of an extraordinary personality
Śrī Bhagavān arranged for His intimate associate Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī to appear in a devotional atmosphere in an aristocratic family. The virtues he displayed—for instance, his righteous character, his attachment to religiosity, and his fearless and vehement opposition of wrongdoing—roused the amazement of his relatives and wise acquaintances, who made him the sole topic of their discussions. They predicted he would soon prove to be an extraordinary personality.
Taking shelter of Śrīla Prabhupada
When Śrīpāda Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī first arrived in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura in 1915, he was highly fortunate to obtain the darśana of paramārādhyatama Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lotus feet, as well as the opportunity to extensively hear hari-kathā from him. In 1919, he took shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lotus feet, becoming a lifelong celibate, and began living permanently in Vraja-pattana Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, where he surrendered his life to engage in earnest spiritual inquiry and cultivate a disposition of servitude. Thus, he received plentiful teachings from his śrī gurudeva on the truths of dharma and scriptural conclusions.
Refuting māyāvāda
Śrī Vinoda-bīhārī Brahmacārī paid particular attention to what Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke on the topic of māyāvāda, or the delusional doctrine of monism: it is a notion lethal to devotion and kills the soul. Śrīman Mahāprabhu did not accept this philosophy in any way, but rather deemed it antagonistic to bhakti. Hence, it is entirely unsanctioned by Him. Brahmacārī-jī firmly assimilated these teachings in his heart, where they became deeply rooted. Accordingly, he collected some ten to twelve commentaries on the philosophic treatise of Vedānta by various authors and, having studied these works, gave speeches at Cuttack’s Ravenshaw College and other learned communities on the irrationality and inauthenticity of Śaṅkara’s doctrine. Later, the essential points of his speeches were published in the Gauḍīya Maṭha’s daily newsletter at the time, Dainika Nadīyā Prakāśa. He expounded the concepts of Brahma-sūtra primarily on the basis of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s teachings concerning the worship of the holy name. He wrote:
“The word brahma factually refers to śabda-brahma, or divine sound vibration. This śabda-brahma is what Śrīman Mahāprabhu preached as śrī-nāma-brahma, divinity incarnated as the holy name. The notion that brahma is a formless, indistinguishable, featureless oblivion is not mentioned anywhere in the approximately five hundred fifty axioms of Brahma-sūtra. If brahma is devoid of qualities, then surely brahma is not of a compassionate nature. Śrī Vedavyāsa did not mention the words nirākāra (formless), nirviśeṣa (indistinct) or nirguṇa (featureless) anywhere in Vedānta-sūtra.”
Classifying the various Buddhas
Once, Svāmī-jī was giving a weeklong lecture series on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the village of Śrī Rāmapura, near Chuñchurā, at the Sanskrit school of the respected attorney Śrīyūta Phaṇi-bhūṣaṇa Cakravartī Śāstrī M.A., B.L. During that time, he discovered that his host had a huge library, which he received the opportunity to peruse. Among the many books, a volume of Buddhist origin, titled Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, drew his attention, and he borrowed it from the lawyer to study. At one place in this book, it is written: “Rāvaṇa used to take a plane to the top of the tallest mountain to visit Buddha, who had come there, and discuss advaita-vāda, the doctrine of monism.” Svāmī-jī quotes this Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra as scriptural evidence on page twenty of his Māyāvādera Jīvanī. Thus, he collected historical evidence of advaita-vādīs dating all the way back to Treta-yuga.
Once, in 1946, while Svāmī-jī was observing ūrjā-vrata in Kāśī, he made a trip to Buddha-Gayā, where he discovered that the temples were under the care of a distinguished Śaṅkarācārya mahanta of the advaita-vādī lineage in accordance with traditions dating back to ancient times. That mahanta was essentially the proprietor of Buddha-Gayā.
Out of curiosity, Swāmī-jī asked the mahanta, “How is a renowned ācārya of the Śaṅkara lineage the head of the Buddhist maṭha? Is Śaṅkara’s lineage a sect of Buddhism?” The mahanta, being somewhat displeased, gave him a book called Lalita-vistāra to consult. Evidence from the twenty-first chapter (page one hundred seventy-eight) of this book is cited on page nineteen of Māyāvādera Jīvanī: “The Śākya Buddha decided that Buddha-Gayā, the birthplace of the previous, ancient Buddha, was the appropriate place for him to attain perfection, and so he sat beneath a fig tree and performed his austerities.”
Svāmī-jī has written: “The ancient name of this Buddha-Gayā is Kīkaṭa. Buddha-deva’s deity is still worshipped at this place by the ‘Giri’ sannyāsī leadership of the Śaṅkara lineage. They accept that Buddha-Gayā is the birthplace of the ancient, original Buddha, the Viṣṇu-Buddha. It is where the Śākya-siṁha Buddha performed spiritual practice to attain liberation. This clearly proves that the ancient avatāra Buddha and the more recent Gautama Buddha are not the same. In the Amara-koṣa dictionary, Lord Buddha’s other name is given as ‘Samanta-Bhadra.’ Samanta-Bhadra is listed among the Bodhisattvas, while Gautama is one of the mortal Buddhas. He became renowned by the name ‘Buddha’ after attaining enlightenment. Thus, we know there are three classifications of Buddhas: the mortal Buddhas, the Bodhisattva Buddhas and the original Buddha.”
His distain for māyāvāda
Svāmī-jī especially cautioned practitioners pursuing the path of devotion to entirely reject the animosity to bhakti that is māyāvāda and to avoid the company of Māyāvādīs, which is lethal to devotion. To this end, he quotes various statements by Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, headed by “māyāvādī-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa—if you listen to the doctrine of Māyāvādīs, you will meet with utter ruin” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 6.169).
He also cites Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura:
viṣaya-vimūḍha āra māyāvādī-jana
bhakti-śunya duñhe prāṇa dhare akāraṇa
The materialist engrossed in pleasures and the impersonalist Māyāvādī are both bereft of bhakti and therefore lead meaningless lives.
se du’yera madhye viṣayī tabu bhālô
māyāvādi-saṅga nāhi māgi kono kāla
Of the two, the materialist is still better. I never want the company of a Māyāvādī.
māyāvāda-doṣa ĵāra hṛdaya paśila
kutarke hṛdaya tāra vajra-sama bhela
Once the blight of Māyāvāda enters a person’s heart, various corrupting contentions render it as harsh as a thunderbolt.
bhaktira svarūpa āra ‘viṣaya,’ ‘āśraya’
māyāvādī ‘anitya’ bôliyā saba kaya
The Māyāvādī deems the nature of devotion, along with its object and subject, to be temporary.
dhik tā’ra kṛṣṇa-sevā śravaṇa kīrtana
kṛṣṇa-aṅge vajra-hāne tāhāra stavana
Fie on their service of Kṛṣṇa, their so-called hearing and chanting. Their praise of Kṛṣṇa amounts to hurling bolts of lightning at Him.
māyāvāda-sama bhakti pratikūla nāi
ataeva māyāvādī-saṅga nāhi cāi
There is nothing more unfavorable to devotion than Māyāvāda. Therefore, I do not want the company of Māyāvādīs.
In this way, Svāmī-jī’s efforts to refute the doctrine of māyāvāda and thereby elicit the hearty pleasure of Bhakti-devī, the goddess of devotion, is a primary facet of his bhāgavata-jīvana, his transcendental life dedicated to the Lord.
A miraculous occurrence
For several unavoidable reasons, Brahmacārī-jī left Śrī Caitanya Maṭha in great sadness in June of 1940. In 1941, he accepted sannyāsa and rented a house on 33-2 Bose-pāḍā Lane in the Bāgbāzār neighborhood, where he founded Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti on the day of Akṣaya-tṛtiyā. During this period, an extraordinary incident occurred.
It must have been 1941 or ’42 on the day of Ekādasī, when Svāmī-jī was sitting in his room at 33-2 Bosa-pāḍā Lane, the location of his Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti, and his godbrother Śrīpāda Nārāyaṇa dāsa Mukhopādhyāya Sevā-suhṛt Prabhu made the trip from his home at 14 Pharadais Lane to visit him. He arrived in the morning, and the two passed a significant amount of time talking. Seeing his guest preparing to return home, Mahārāja was keen to offer him something to eat, but at the time, he did not have single paisā at hand. He could not even offer batāsā (small hollow sugar puffs) with water. Was he to simply bid his godbrother goodbye like this? Mahārāja, a son of nobility, began to weep at heart.
At that very moment, a sparrow—sent by the Lord, presumably—perched itself on the wall of the house and dropped a small packet down the ventilator shaft. The packet fell into the room and landed on the floor with a sound. When Śrī Keśava Mahārāja opened it, he saw there were six ānās inside (about 35 paisā). “Surely, the gods have sent this,” he thought. Summoning a brahmacārī sevaka, he asked him to purchase some sandeśa (sweet curd) with the money. Thus, he was able to lovingly offer his godbrother Sevā-suhṛt Prabhu suitable prasāda.
After that, there was not one paisā left in his treasury by which he might have had something for himself to eat. But just then, there was a knock at the main gate. A courier had arrived. It was incredible! Blessed is the Lord, who is so affectionate to His devotees, and blessed is His transcendentally causeless mercy, which makes the impossible possible. His affection for His devotees is unprecedented. The supremely worshipful tridaṇḍi-svāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Sarvasva Giri Mahārāja, a godbrother of Mahārāja-jī who has since attained the eternal abode, had sent a money order in his name for one hundred rupees. Everyone who witnessed the incident was stunned and began to praise Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga again and again. Although he was in the grips of extreme poverty, Svāmī-jī savored this mercy of Śrī Bhagavān and felt encouraged to always be dauntless in his readiness to render service.
Winning the respect of all
From the very beginning, when Śrī Vinoda-bihārī first came to the lotus feet of his most worshipful śrī gurudeva, Śrīla Prabhupāda entrusted him with the weighty responsibilities of maintaining the maṭha’s properties in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura and further expanding the glories of serving the most transcendental dhāma.
The guardian of ākāra maṭha-rāja Śrī Caitanya Maṭha in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, Śrīpāda Narahari Brahmacārī Sevā-vigraha, was his inseparable comrade and counterpart. Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī accomplished many services for the sake of Śrīdhāma with his companion’s consultation, thereby bringing great joy to paramārādhya Śrīla Prabhupāda.
In those days in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, the residents of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s dhāma respectfully addressed Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī as ‘Manager Bābu.’ Hindus and Muslims alike all regarded him as a truly beneficent friend and well-wisher. At a word from him, everyone would heed his reconciliations, which were geared toward keeping rogues in check and nurturing the gentle folk. He never indulged in any manner of wrongdoing. Because of his sound judgment and management, the poor rarely had to waste money on court visits and fees. Even the local Muslims lent their wholehearted assistance to the maṭha.
All of the local high-ranking officials—from the district magistrate of Nadīyā to the officers, attorneys, landownersand oligarchs, as well as the teachers, professors and administrators of theschools and colleges—regarded Vinoda Bābū with ubiquitous respect as an esteemed citizen and munificent gentleman whose life was dedicated to dharma. Indeed, they found themselves won over by his virtues.
Every year, he evoked profuse joy in Śrīla Prabhupāda by his otherworldly service during Śrīdhāma Navadvīpa parikramā, the festival of Śrī Gaura’s appearance at Śrī Yoga-pīṭha, the auspicious convening of Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma Pracārinī Sabhā, as well as when an the exhibition on spiritual life was unveiled in 1929.
Aside from this, as a brahmacārī, he further evoked the happiness of his śrī gurupāda-padma by his tireless toil in establishing the printing press in the Śrīdhāma, in overseeing the printing of the daily spiritual newspaper Dainika Nadiyā Prakāśa and countless scriptural texts, in constructing Śrīdhāma’s roads and riverbanks, in supervising the land leases and in other various tasks of service.
All of the resident sevakas of the maṭha were won over by his considerate, caring interactions. In the endearing saturation of his and Śrīpāda Narahari Dā’s affectionate care, even the young pledges who had taken refuge in the maṭha were able to forego the loving arms of their mothers and fathers, all the while maintaining a healthy fear of his affectionate chastisement.
Disciples of the most worshipful Śrīla Prabhupāda were eager to approach these two godbrothers, literally dancing in delight at the prospect. In those days, Śrīdhāma Māyāpura was the life of devotee’s lives, and Vinoda Dā and Narahari Dā were everyone’s bosom friends, the dearest of their lives. Even paramārādhyatama Śrīla Prabhupāda was always eager to come to Śrīdhāma Māyāpura from the Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Kolkata. Upon reaching there, his heart would feel soothed and at peace. But alas, “te hi no divasā gatāḥ—those days have gone.”
Śrīdhāma Māyāpura was the very life of Śrīpāda Keśava Mahārāja. Upon being deprived of living in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, like a fish out of water, Svāmī-jī felt as if life itself was an affliction. After the disappearance of our most worshipful Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Keśava Mahārāja consulted with his inseparable confidant Śrīpāda Narahari Dā and moved to Tegharī-pādā, Koladvīpa in Śrīdhāma Navadvīpa, where he established the principal seat of his Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti.
He named the maṭha Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha and, on six bighās (four and one-third acres), constructed a huge, towering temple, a large nāṭya-mandira event hall, ample accommodations for the sevakas, and many other facilities. To honor the Purāṇic significance of Koladvīpa, the fifth of Navadvīpa’s nine islands, Svāmī-jī installed the deity of Śrī Bhagavān Varāhāvatāra on a separate throne next to that of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī-jiu in a grand ceremony with a qualified ācārya priest present to conduct the necessary rituals.
Now, as of the 6 October 1968, Svāmī-jī’s transcendental form has been interred in samādhi to the west of the massive nāṭya-mandira assembly hall in front of that temple. The devotees hope to soon build a large samādhi shrine there.
Observing Ratha-yātrā
Every year for some twenty-five years, pūjyapāda Mahārāja held the Ratha-yātrā festival of Śrī Śrī Jagannātha-deva from Chuñchurā’s Śrī Uddhāraṇa Gauḍīya Maṭha. Last year, in a grand event, Śrī Śrī Jagannātha-deva’s Ratha-yātrā was held at Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha in Śrī Koladvīpa, also.
Propagating śuddha-bhakti
By establishing preaching centers under Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti in various places throughout India, pūjyapāda Keśava Mahārāja propagated the message and verdicts of śuddha-bhakti, or pure devotion, and planted its seed in the hearts of many fortunate souls. By the impact of hearing his compelling sermons, many men and women attained the fortune of pursuing the path of pure devotion as revealed by our most worshipful Prabhupāda. Bathing and vitalizing them in the sacred current of Śrī Śrī Bhaktivinoda’s teachings, Svāmī-jī made their mortal lives successful and blessed beyond belief.
The steadfastness of his conviction
Once Śrī Keśava Mahārāja understood something to be true, his conviction in it was such that even fear itself was afraid to dissuade him.
Nourishing his disciples with affection
Śrī Keśava Mahārāja expressed a disposition of being harder than a thunderbolt, yet softer than a flower—vajrād-api kaṭhorāṇi mṛdūni kusumād-api. His affection for his disciples was exemplary. If ever his disciples faced a serious illness or injury, his soft, flower-like heart would melt entirely. He would be ready to trade all he had to bring them back to health. Although he had to combat extreme poverty in the beginning, by the Lord’s will, he eventually established temples in various places, most notably the large maṭha-mandira in Śrīdhāma Navadvīpa, with the help of a few wealthy devotees.
A few of his accomplishments
During his pastimes as an ācārya, he held huge parikramās in Śrī Gauḍa-maṇḍala, Śrī Vraja-maṇḍala and Śrī Kṣetra-Maṇḍala. Besides these engagements, he organized pilgrimages to almost all of the renowned holy places in Āryāvarta (North India) and South India. He also held a large pilgrimage of Śrī Śiva-dhāma Śrī Baidyanātha-dhāma and stayed there for one month, observing niyama-sevā (Kārtika) and executing the schedule of appropriate vows and daily kīrtanas.
His enthusiasm in the field of education was exemplary. In the maṭha in Śrīdhāma Navadvīpa, he established a day school for Sanskrit, a residence for students, a printing press for books and magazines, a bookstore, and a warehouse. He personally oversaw these services, thus encouraging everyone in the service of the śrī maṭha-mandira.
Inexpressible separation
Today, having lost such an exemplary ācārya who was eager to serve and was endowed with all good qualities, the pain we feel in our hearts cannot be expressed in words. Separation from a godbrother so completely dedicated to the service of śrī guru, Gaurāṅga and Śrī Gaura-dhāma fills our hearts with extreme agony. May Śrīpāda Keśava Mahārāja be pleased with us. That is our pitiful prayer.
Excerpts from an article published in
Śrī Caitanya-Vāṇī (Year 8, Volume 10)