He Serves His Gurupādapadma Incessantly

I have always seen Gurudev perform his parikramās, Navadvip parikramā, Vraja-mandala parikramā by foot, walking. So many other devotees and sannyāsīs who participate will return taking some vehicle to end their parikramā, but Gurudev would return along with the kirtan party only, even if it is late at night.

When the kirtans slowed down, Gurudev would go to the front and would infuse such energy into those kirtans and take them further.  I have even heard Śrīkānta Prabhu say he would get tired, but Guru Mahārāj would never feel tired.  Another thing is even after so much endeavor, Gurudev would come and after speaking harikathā, he would announce the next day's parikramā details at the end of the session. Again in the morning during maṅgaḷāratī, we also got darśan of Gurudev.  

When he would take rest, nobody knows. Prabhupāda says who can understand Bhajan-rahasya (mysteries of devotion) is a very intimate servant; one who is totally surrendered to and serves his gurupādapadma incessantly.  This can be seen in our Guru Mahārāj.  

In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī writes:

kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ
viraktir māna-śūnyatā
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā
nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ
āsaktis tad-guṇākhyāne
prītis tad-vasati-sthale
ity ādayo 'nubhāvāḥ syur
jāta-bhāvāṅkure jane

[Translation: When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Kṛṣṇa fructifies, the following nine symptoms manifest in one's behavior: forgiveness, concern that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides-that is, a temple or a holy place like Vṛndāvana. These are all called anubhāva, subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion. They are visible in a person in whose heart the seed of love of God has begun to fructify.]

In whatever manner and to whatever degree one is engrossed in Kṛṣṇa-prema, our Gurudev has engaged himself in the service of his gurupādapadma, we can witness that in him.  

Kṣānti means as mentioned in Bhāgavat, tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena, intense devotion—this can be found in Gurudev. He would engage all his time in the service of his Gurudev and Śrī Śrī Rādhā Kṛṣṇa, and not waste time in any other activity, not having an attachment to any material activities. He had no expectations of any respect from anyone, never considered himself an ācārya, and to be respectable— his only desire is to serve his gurupādapadma. If anyone would offer to donate a maṭha or mandir, he would decline politely, explaining that his only desire was that the maṭhas established my Gurudev are served well. 

This āśā-bandhaḥ and samutkaṇṭhā in singing the glories of Mahāprabhu's nāma in kirtans—all these are found in Gurudev among so many more.

—Śrī Bhakti Ujjvala Rādhānti Mahārāj

excerpt translated from Hindi, Viraha sabhā, Bhatinda, (Punjab) 2017








































Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"She Has Gone to Goloka-dhāma "

Capture It in Your Heart

He Could Not Allow His Disciples to Bathe His Feet