His Perfect Example of a Disciple's Surrender to Sri Guru

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One must surrender to a person who is the most generous, magnanimous, merciful, and affectionate – closer than any mother or father you could think of.

We got Harinām from such a guru who is both spiritually and materially very well-conducted throughout his life. For this reason, he has got tons of mercy from so many associates of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. It wasn't just that they gave mercy, but they were so happy to be in his company.

He had so much service mood, he was always ready to carry out any order. He never thought, "Yes, I have done enough." At any time, even in the middle of the night, he was always ready.

Śrīla Gurudev would not only consistently perform activities slowly, but he would also always say all the names of the āchāryas of our line. He would say all the names with so much feeling, very carefully. He was standing before me but I could see that he was in a completely different realm. Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev Goswāmī Mahārāj used to call it śraddhālok, the realm of faith, the realm of bhajan.

When he spoke the name of his own Gurudev, Param Gurudev, he became overwhelmed with ecstasy. Tears came from his eyes like syringes, they just shot out. I had read that in Chaitanya Charitamrita, but I had never seen that before.

One who has as much love for his spiritual master as for the Lord, all the purports of the scriptures will be revealed in his heart. Gurudev has shown that by his example. The love he has for his Gurudev was one of the most captivating things I've ever seen. I've never seen anyone with that much love for anybody.

He was always asking for Param Gurudev's mercy, begging: "Hā Gurudev, rakṣākoro, please forgive me, please protect me."

He was always showing that we need Gurudev's mercy, the mood of a true disciple. I'm really glad that I got to see that. We should always be hankering for his mercy. There is no room to be complacent.

Especially in these final years, in these pastimes he's showing us now, he's always showing us the mood of a disciple. He showed us this reality. These words of Swāmī Mahārāj, "repentance is a function of the heart," he showed us this.

—Abhimanyu Das, USA




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