Pranamami Guru Tirtha Padam

Part 4 continues:

After this, things became more astonishing for us when we saw that my sister, who had always been a quiet person,  had become much more reserved. She would not really participate in any material happenings around her.

Something had changed after she came back from the hospital which was becoming evident day-by-day with her conduct and talks. Although she got the job of a teacher and gained her health back, her interests had changed a lot. She had become very detached from everything.

Again came the days of despair for us after one year, she had fallen sick again and diagnosed with pneumonia relapse. She had some breathing difficulty but this time it was not so severe. With the consultation of doctors, she was taking rest at home with some prescribed medicines. But after a few more days, her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to the hospital where doctors found that her heart had become very weak.

Doctors wanted to operate on her heart this time to which my par…

Part 3 continues...
After a few days, she was discharged from hospital and was brought back to home. But on the other hand, it was heart-breaking news on 20th April 2017 when Srila Gurudeva performed the pastime of His physical disappearance from our eyes.

After her recovery, we all had visited Srila Gurudev’s Samadhi in Sridham Mayapur to pay obeisances for taking care of His daughter in such a mystical way.

Although my sister was out of the intense suffering, there was some weakness due to which she was not able to continue her studies of B.ED to become a teacher. She could hardly write much even after the months of her recovery. It was necessary for her to clear the exam to become a teacher. My mother started to train her to write as much as she could so that she can be prepared for her exams. But to everyone's despair, she could hardly write one side of a page in an hour’s time. We could see that although she had prepared well, she would never be able to complete her exams. Bu…

Continued from Part 1...

At last, it was the time when my sister was taken inside the operation theatre (OT) where the actual operation was to be performed by the doctors. We all were praying for the dreams to come true and hoping to see that my sister would come back smiling from the pangs of death. Then came the time of the revelation of Srila Gurudev’s presence not only in the dream but also in real life.

Doctors again performed the final scan before operating her. Just 5 minutes after she was taken into the OT, the doctors came out in complete astonishment because they became the first witness of Srila Gurudev’s mercy on my sister. They shouted, “It’s a Miracle, It’s a Miracle!” The dreams had come true and doctors couldn’t find a drop of water in either lungs or anywhere near the heart since it was opposite of what they saw when they scanned her in the morning.

However, we understood the exact nature of the miracle—how could have there been any misery or poison left when Srila Gu…

The following post is Part One of a series that will continue in the coming weeks...

With Gurudev’s mercy, I have got inspiration to share this incident about my biological sister and God-sister, Ashita Dhamir. She was initiated by Srila Gurudev ( Nityalila Pravishtha Om Visnupad Paramhamsa Shree Shrimad Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj Ji) on 31 Aug 2013 at Kolkata math.

She had a direct experience of Srila Gurudev’s mercy when she was admitted to the hospital because of pneumonia in March 2017. The doctors had diagnosed that she had got water clogged into her lungs. This made it difficult for her to breathe. She was put on life-support. The doctors advised us to get an operation, but also told us that the chances of her staying alive were very slim. The success rate of such a surgery was almost none.

My relatives who had gathered at the hospital. My parents were not ready to go for the heart operation because of the risk. In the midst of this highly stressful episode, my sister …

tat te anukampam susamikshamana: most noble, peaceful, even those who act like enemies to them also he is very friendly.

Under any circumstance, Gurudeva is always seen peaceful and smiling, which is an exemplary character of a pure devotee as explained in the verse, tat te anukampam susamikshamana (Brahma Stava 10.14.8)

Once there was a delay of 5-6 hours when Gurudeva and the prachar party reached Bhatinda from New Delhi, reaching around 1 o'clock in the middle of the night instead of the scheduled time 6 in the evening.

Many of the devotees who arrived with Gurudeva were so tired that when they got rooms they simply retired without even waiting to have prasadam. But when Gurudeva was to be offered food, Gurudeva's sevak found to his surprise that all the stuff the Bhatinda devotees had prepared with love were all Punjab foods— fried things like puris and spicy curries and not a single item other than plain rice suitable for Gurudeva's offering.

There was no papaya sabji n…

Srila Gurudeva leads an ecstatic kirtan on Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaja's tirobhav tithi, 1999 at the Vrinda Kunja mandir, Vrindavan:

It was after 35 years after his [Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj] Guru Maharaj [Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur] gave the instruction to preach abroad that he was able to do so. He was a householder and he had a business, but it was not too successful.

Once he got tuberculosis. At that time tuberculosis meant the family will reject you. The medicine was too expensive, each day 120 rupees; at that time in 1950s, that was near 12,000 rupees daily. Due to the fact that it was an infectious and contagious disease, his family rejected him. This is not in our written history, only spoken.

That time Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaja said, for the service of my godbrother, I will beg door to door, and he brought him to his temple. At that time, Madhav Maharaj had a temple in a rented house in Rasbihari, Kolkata. It is not the building where the temple is now, but five blocks from there.

Madhava Maharaj kept him there for 6 months and every day gave 120 rupees for his me…

When Guruji narrates in Harikatha the pastimes of Supreme Lord, he brings that scene before our eyes. When we have heard Guruji speak Druva Charitra and call repeatedly Where is Padma Palash Lochan Hari? we would feel as though Druva is there in person, calling out to Supreme Lord.

When narrating Kurukshetra’s fire sacrifice, he calls, Gopal! Gopal! It is as though mother Yashoda is calling. His harikatha is full of divine mellow overflow with newer and newer sweetness and mellows. In his Harikatha, there is the presence of the Supreme Lord in person and so it is the bestower of extreme bliss. Just listening to his Harikatha one feels cleansed from all dirt within the heart and feels repentant. The mind feels encouraged, renewed in enthusiasm to pursue the devotional path. Hard hearts soften and melt.

We have never heard Gurudeva ever ask why you have arranged so many programs of Harikatha even when you might have fixed many harikatha programs of Guruji in a single day. In Dehradun o…

Braj-Parikrama of 1996 gave a lot of unexpected spiritual gains. Golden opportunities were received — most coveted causeless mercy! The mood is so devotional during Kartik that one attracts showers of divine blessings effortlessly.

Srila Gurudev never allowed us to physically serve Him. Whenever I felt that Gurudev seems to be exhausted, I attempted to massage His lotus feet, only to be stopped by Him. When I insisted, I got an angry glance which weakened my resolve. I used to pray for this service opportunity, but it was beyond Gurudev’s mood of acceptance. He never expected any seva, any kind of service, from the disciples.

When we reached Goverdhan, Manasi Ganga was overflowing with its waters inundating lanes around its banks. Guru Maharaj had to move in the knee-deep waters while holding up His clothes. I was following behind. Suddenly I realized that I never got such opportunity before! Without wasting a moment, I bowed down and grabbed Manasi Ganga jal flowing behind His lotus…