Supreme Lord Assures His Words Do Not Go in Vain
First I would like to remember the teachings of my Guruji [Sri Srimad Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj]. He would ask us to sing śrauta-vāṇī kirtan, i.e. to recapitulate the words which are heard from the lips of our Gurudev and śuddha-vaishnav, also called guru-vāṇī ānukirtan. He also said to speak Gita and Bhagavat-katha; to not speak our words and thoughts. By this whoever listens is benefitted and whoever speaks is also benefitted.
Another teaching of his was that we can reside in the maṭh when we forget our selfish desires and serve Gurudev's orders. Like for example, I reside in Guwahati or Goalpara and wish to participate in Navadvip parikrama or visit Vrindavan. If Guruji says, not to leave now, you can go later, you have to honor his words and not try to fulfill your desires. Then you are doing his ānugatya: the real way to follow—otherwise not.
Once we were on a preaching tour in Assam lead by Tirtha Maharaj. Srikant Prabhu's father and Jagadananda Brahmachari requested Tirtha Maharaj to visit his place as he desired to have a maṭh established there in the future. It was in a very remote area, about seven hours travel by bus from Guwahati. A busload of devotees, brahmacharis, sannyasis, and householders reached there by evening. They had made a very simple arrangement for stay in a big open field with bamboo and dry coconut leaves for shelter from the sun, but there was no protection in the case of rain.
Tirtha Maharaj was given a small hut with a cot to stay in. That night dark clouds suddenly gathered and it began to rain. I saw Tirtha Maharaj placing a plate here, a tumbler there, and a bucket elsewhere to collect the rainwater dripping from the temporary roof covering. He folded up his bed and keeping it to his side, sat with an umbrella in his hand.
He told me to rest, but how could I? Maharaj is repeatedly telling whatever Lord does is all for our good. He spent the whole night like that. The next morning there was sunshine and in the evening rain came again. For fulfilling the desires of his Gurudeva and for prachar of Mahaprabhu’s vāṇī he underwent a lot of hardships. He exhibited a high level of tolerance and accepted whatever arrangements they had offered with humility.
One of our god-brothers invited Tirtha Maharaj to his place which is further from Sarbhog. Tirtha Maharaj would deliver katha in their house two times a day in the morning and evening, staying there for about a week. In that house were four brothers, all well-settled and rich; the youngest of them was looking after their four chemists' shops. The youngest of the brothers would get ready early morning and go for work and return in the evening and would never attend katha or even offer pranams to Tirtha Maharaj, but the other brothers and their family would sit for katha.
Later it so happened that the youngest brother's elder son (who was just fourteen years old at the time) lost his eyesight. The doctors in Assam told the family that the damage was permanent and could not be rectified even by doctors in Delhi or Mumbai. They brought the child to Kolkata and visited many big doctors there. All the doctors gave the same verdict. They had our maṭh's ekādaśī booklet with them and seeing maṭh's address came to meet Tirtha Maharaj. Hearing their story, Maharaj suggested they can try homeopathic treatments, but the father of the child said he had no faith in Homeopathy. When Maharaj again told them why not you give it a try, he accepted Maharaj's suggestion and consulted the doctor he recommended, Dr. P. Banerjee. The doctor gave a week's medicine for the child and asked them to return for a follow-up appointment a week later.
That family stayed in the maṭh and by the end of the week, the child told his father that he could see a little, although it was hazy. This made everyone happy including Maharaj, the father, and the doctor. They followed the treatment for another month and the boy's eyesight got restored. Lord restored the boy's eyesight so that the words of Maharaj would not go in vain, as Prahlad Maharaj's words were made true when Nrsimha Bhagavan appeared from the pillar. See how special he is!
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, and our Guru Maharaj is non-different from Srila Prabhupad, all say this. And our Guruji and Tirtha Maharaj are non-different. This is our faith in the Lord. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur has said, vaiṣṇavera avedane krishna dayāmaya. When Maharaj prayed, Lord restored the eye-sight of the child to please him.
—Sripad Bhakti Prapanna Tapasvi Maharaj
Excerpt from a transcription-translation from Hindi to English
Listen to original audio on Youtube: GOKUL INDIA
spoken on 20.4.2020
Another teaching of his was that we can reside in the maṭh when we forget our selfish desires and serve Gurudev's orders. Like for example, I reside in Guwahati or Goalpara and wish to participate in Navadvip parikrama or visit Vrindavan. If Guruji says, not to leave now, you can go later, you have to honor his words and not try to fulfill your desires. Then you are doing his ānugatya: the real way to follow—otherwise not.
Once we were on a preaching tour in Assam lead by Tirtha Maharaj. Srikant Prabhu's father and Jagadananda Brahmachari requested Tirtha Maharaj to visit his place as he desired to have a maṭh established there in the future. It was in a very remote area, about seven hours travel by bus from Guwahati. A busload of devotees, brahmacharis, sannyasis, and householders reached there by evening. They had made a very simple arrangement for stay in a big open field with bamboo and dry coconut leaves for shelter from the sun, but there was no protection in the case of rain.
Tirtha Maharaj was given a small hut with a cot to stay in. That night dark clouds suddenly gathered and it began to rain. I saw Tirtha Maharaj placing a plate here, a tumbler there, and a bucket elsewhere to collect the rainwater dripping from the temporary roof covering. He folded up his bed and keeping it to his side, sat with an umbrella in his hand.
He told me to rest, but how could I? Maharaj is repeatedly telling whatever Lord does is all for our good. He spent the whole night like that. The next morning there was sunshine and in the evening rain came again. For fulfilling the desires of his Gurudeva and for prachar of Mahaprabhu’s vāṇī he underwent a lot of hardships. He exhibited a high level of tolerance and accepted whatever arrangements they had offered with humility.
One of our god-brothers invited Tirtha Maharaj to his place which is further from Sarbhog. Tirtha Maharaj would deliver katha in their house two times a day in the morning and evening, staying there for about a week. In that house were four brothers, all well-settled and rich; the youngest of them was looking after their four chemists' shops. The youngest of the brothers would get ready early morning and go for work and return in the evening and would never attend katha or even offer pranams to Tirtha Maharaj, but the other brothers and their family would sit for katha.
Later it so happened that the youngest brother's elder son (who was just fourteen years old at the time) lost his eyesight. The doctors in Assam told the family that the damage was permanent and could not be rectified even by doctors in Delhi or Mumbai. They brought the child to Kolkata and visited many big doctors there. All the doctors gave the same verdict. They had our maṭh's ekādaśī booklet with them and seeing maṭh's address came to meet Tirtha Maharaj. Hearing their story, Maharaj suggested they can try homeopathic treatments, but the father of the child said he had no faith in Homeopathy. When Maharaj again told them why not you give it a try, he accepted Maharaj's suggestion and consulted the doctor he recommended, Dr. P. Banerjee. The doctor gave a week's medicine for the child and asked them to return for a follow-up appointment a week later.
That family stayed in the maṭh and by the end of the week, the child told his father that he could see a little, although it was hazy. This made everyone happy including Maharaj, the father, and the doctor. They followed the treatment for another month and the boy's eyesight got restored. Lord restored the boy's eyesight so that the words of Maharaj would not go in vain, as Prahlad Maharaj's words were made true when Nrsimha Bhagavan appeared from the pillar. See how special he is!
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, and our Guru Maharaj is non-different from Srila Prabhupad, all say this. And our Guruji and Tirtha Maharaj are non-different. This is our faith in the Lord. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur has said, vaiṣṇavera avedane krishna dayāmaya. When Maharaj prayed, Lord restored the eye-sight of the child to please him.
Have we ever heard that homeopathy can cure a heart ailment? Our Nityagopal Prabhu had a heart attack during a time when Tirtha Maharaj was on prachar in Punjab. Prabhu was admitted to Ramakrishna Mission Hospital and from there shifted to Kolkata Hospital; the date of the operation was fixed for two days later. We requested the doctors to give us one week for the operation. By then Tirtha Maharaj would arrive back in Kolkata from prachar tour. He sent Gauranga Prasad Prabhu (now Acharya Maharaj) to Vellore with all the reports for consultation with the doctors there. There was only one heart specialist in Kolkata who had operated on Guruji and it was a failure due to his inattentiveness to his diabetic condition, which he regretted later. So Tirtha Maharaj was not agreeing for him to operate. Vellore doctors opined it is a serious condition and it would cost three lakh rupees. They suggested that instead of traveling to South India that the operation should be done in Kolkata. Finally, Tirtha Maharaj decided to get him treated by a homeopathic doctor by the name of Bolachand Sen in Kolkata. He avoided the operation entirely by taking homeopathic and allopathic medicine and was able to maintain good health. This again proves how dear is Maharaj to the Lord and how Lord keeps his words and gives him solace. This shows his surrender to the Lord. He would say, “By pūrṇa śaraṇāgati one can have darshan of the Lord.”
—Sripad Bhakti Prapanna Tapasvi Maharaj
Excerpt from a transcription-translation from Hindi to English
Listen to original audio on Youtube: GOKUL INDIA
spoken on 20.4.2020
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