Surrendering to the Divine Professor

By
I came to Śrīla Gurudeva Bhakti Ballabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja after becoming his first non-endian full-time disciple. I was initiated in 1995 at Śrīdhāma Vṛndāvana on Baladeva Pūrṇimā at the end of the Rādhā-Govinda Jhulan-yātrā festival of Sree Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha.

On my second trip to India in 1996, I approached him with the idea to study Sanskrit. Gurudeva replied, "You did not come to me, you came to learn something."

It meant I came with the desire not to serve the Guru but to learn something for myself. I clearly understood that Gurudeva gave me a choice to become an independent scholar in Sanskrit or to be his fully dedicated disciple. 

I still insisted on my studies anyway. Gurudeva agreed with my desire and allowed me to live in Kolkata maṭha while I was attending Kolkata Sanskrit College, the same college where Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura studied one hundred years before. A professor of Sanskrit there asked me, “What do you want to learn? We spent a lifetime in such studies, but have never reached the goal. You already dedicated yourself as a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and lived in the maṭha; this means you knew something more than we do.” 

When I heard this, I came to Gurudeva and told him that now that my worldly education was over, I would serve guru and vaiṣṇavas as they liked, and not the way I wanted. After that, I started accompanying Gurudeva all over India as his first personal secretary, typing his letters and English articles and books in preparation for his first foreign preaching tours in 1997. 

—Vṛndāvana Dāsa, Ukraine



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

The Rain Stops for Him

By
Image
Once we were in Dehradun and it started to rain heavily before nagara-saṅkīrtana was about to start. Gurujī came with Amarendra Prabhu under an umbrella. The hall was filled with devotees and the band was playing music. Many scattered because of the rain. but Gurujī called Śrīkanta Prabhu and asked him to sing the kirtana that began "kripa karo hum pe shyam sundara." After that, Gurujī sang "śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda" and as soon as he started singing "Nitai Gauranga," the rain stopped. The sky became clear and the sun was seen. Then all the devotees went for nagara-saṅkīrtana started. As soon as the nagara-saṅkīrtana reached back to the maṭha , it started raining heavily once again. —Śrīla Bhakti Vilāsa Tridaṇḍī Mahārāja (2015)
Read more

"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