Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

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...

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 ...

In Gokul, when people of a local political party destroyed the deity of Radha Gokulanandji, Guruji was in Jammu. Parampujyapad Srila Guru Maharaj, Pujyapad Narayan Maharaj, one devotee from Bathinda and I went to a MP (Member of Parliament) in Jammu to discuss this topic. From there, Gurudev went to Gokul. He was very sad and cried incessantly saying, “This has happened because of my offences. Gurudev has given me the responsibility to serve Them. I couldn't do Their service nor could I take care of Them.” Later some devotees consulted an advocate to file a case against the miscreants. The papers were prepared and taken to Guruji for signatures. They told Guruji, "Please sign these papers; we will file a case against those culprits.” Guruji read the papers and tore them into pieces. He told “Have we become eligible to file a case against Vrajvasis? Whatever has happened is due to my offences.” He was very cautious not to offend the Vrajvasis. Where can we find su...

When I was serving in the m aṭha , I worked outside of his room on my laptop sometimes. Gurudeva saw me and asked, "Do you know typing? Can you type a letter for me? I told him I could do it, and he dictated what he wanted me to write. It was regarding some land next to the Dehradun maṭha that belonged to one of our god sisters. Gurudeva wanted to purchase that land and our god-sister also wanted to sell it. When he was dictating, I was shocked to discover that he not only knows not only spiritual matters, but also all about legal matters, financial matters, and every other aspect of business— he was a spiritual CEO! Each and every instruction he gave was not only spiritually but materially perfect. He was explaining how the land could be acquired, how to give the funds to that Mātājī—everything. Once I was translating Dasavatar. The Hindi translation is slightly tough and a little cryptic. I translated it with a bit of a whim. Gurudeva told, "You have to understand t...

I have met many Maharajas, but our Gurudev is most humble. When in the West, he was very open. Anyone could come to him at anytime without asking anyone's permission. He was very available for us. When Guruji was giving initiation, he was doing everything on his own. First, he was offering guru-puja, then he delivered a long Harikatha and made us understand each and everything from beginning to end. Finally, he said, "Now offer dandavats to our Gurudev." He never said that he is a Guru. He always offered us to his Guruji. I organized a program. It was in a mill that was renovated and made into a big apartment that we rented. The owner and his 80-year-old mother were living downstairs. There was a big kirtan. The owner was frightened by the noise and came up to express his displeasure. Gurudev told us after that not to do loud kirtan. When we were planning for next year's program, Gurudev asked, "Will we be allowed for next year?" He never thoug...

Once I prepared prasādam for Gurujī and served it to him. Seeing the plate, he said, "You should put the whole chili in the foods that someone may choose to eat it or to leave it." The next day when I prepared  prasādam , I put the whole chili in the preparation and took it to Gurujī. Gurujī started honoring the  prasādam  while I sat near him. Suddenly he cried, "atom bomb!" I was confused at first but soon understood that he was referring to the green chili. We both started laughing. Then I asked him if he had ever prepared prasādam for his Gurudeva. He told me there was only one occasion. "When I asked Gurujī how Parama-gurudeva liked it," he explained, "He told me it was nice, but when I tasted the remnants, there was no salt in it. That was the only time I made prasādam for him." Gurujī never told anybody that he wanted to eat any certain thing. Whatever the brahmacārī prepared for him, he had it. Once Gurujī told one brahmacārī wh...