His Only Position is in Service

By
When I first saw Srila Gurudev it was in Kolkata math. He was seated on a little mat and he just looked up and he said to me: you sit down please you sit down. So I sat down.

I was young at that time and more stupid than I am today. I hope not as bad anyway— hopefully, the chanting has done something

I didn’t know what to say to him. The devotee who had brought to him was named Sudama Brahmacari. On the way to meet Maharaj he had told me they had 28 temples across India.

Since I didn’t know what to say [to Gurudev] the first thing I blurted out was, "So, I understand you are head of 28 temples."  He just looked at me. If you know the kind of smile he has, he is never critical never condescending, always... bemused.

So he turned to me and , simply said,  "I’m not the head of anything, I am the servant."
So from that moment, my affection for Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj started—right from there.

—Akincana Das, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"She Has Gone to Goloka-dhāma "

By
Image
Guru Mahārāja is not an ordinary person; he is sent by the Supreme Lord to rescue all of us. In the office, if we are working in one place, we may be deputed to another place to do some work. Similarly, Gurudeva has been deputed from Goloka-dhāma to help us. Guru Mahārāja has come here to fulfill the desire of Hari-Guru-Vaishnavas. In 1997, I received harināma in Gokula-Mahāvana along with my  dharmapatnī , my wife. Guru Mahārāja asked my wife, "If something bad has happened to you, how do you take this? As if Gurudeva is at fault, or as if other persons are at fault?” My wife replied, “Whatever happens, I think it is good for me, by your arrangement.” In 2013, my wife was detected with breast cancer, and later left this world. Some devotees came to the maṭha and gave the news to Gurudeva. Gurudeva replied, "She has gone to Goloka-dhāma." In the hospital, I remember when my wife was in the ICU, and the doctor came and told me, "Your wife is in the fina
Read more

He Could Not Allow His Disciples to Bathe His Feet

By
Image
Once when we came to Kolkata, we saw Gurujī performing ecstatic kirtana while jumping high in the air. Śrīla Gurudeva was 66 years old at that time.  Param-pūjyapāda Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāja said, “Tirtha Mahārāja is not an ordinary human being. He is the direct associate ( nija-jana ) of the Supreme Lord.” One time I asked Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāja, "You tell one should do sevā of Gurujī, and one should drink the water that washes the lotus feet of Gurujī, but as soon as we go near to him, he gets angry. Once Gurujī went to our guru-bhai Sudhir Kantjī’s house in Bhatinda, He wanted to wash Gurujī’s lotus feet, but Gurujī became very angry." “You will not wash my feet! You should wash my Gurujī’s feet," Gurujī said. So, I asked Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāja what we should do in such situations.  He replied, “You must wash your Gurujī’s feet. When your Gurujī comes and sits in a room then close and lock the door, then take the water utensil in your hand and tell him that Puri Gosvāmī M
Read more

Capture It in Your Heart

By
Image
In 2005, I decided to visit Jagannāth Puri for Ratha-yātrā. It was my first visit to any maṭha after harināma . The first thing I did was to equip myself with a film SLR camera anticipating interesting moments and visuals. Every year from then on, the camera always accompanied me, so much so that most of the time, I used to take snapshots more than actually participating. In 2010 or maybe 2011, I was staying in Mumbai. A few devotees wanted to purchase a camera for the maṭha-sevā , and, supposing I knew a bit about cameras, I accompanied them along for the purchase. Some research was done, and we picked up a Canon SLR and a couple of lenses. Soon after that, we went off to Jagannāth Puri. We were excited about the visit. It was during Ratha-yātrā, and Śrī Gurudeva was there for some days. A special darśan was organized for the Mumbai devotees. We walked in and offered praṇāms . As usual, I was holding the camera and shooting from many angles. At some point, I went closer to join the
Read more