Perform Parikramā to Receive His Mercy

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My wife, Smt. Shanta Gupta and I were feeling the necessity of sad-guru for nearly twenty-four years before we finally took Śri Hāriṇam-mahāmantra and dīkṣā.

We used to live in the government quarters at Simla’s Nabha House area which is near the railway station. There is one Śri Rādhā Gopīnātha temple there and saints and speakers of harikathā continually came there. Though many people accepted guru-mantra from them and we also desired to take it, it did not materialize.

Time passed by and there was a pain in the heart that we did not take guru-mantra. Sometimes there were arguments between us when one would insist on taking guru-mantra from one saint and the other disagreed.

In 1993, by the desire of Śri Hari, we got an opportunity to go for 84 Kos Vraja-mandala parikramā in the Kārtik month. On reaching Sri Mathura dhām, the first thing we did was to have darśan of one saint who was staying in a room of a dharmashala and we offered daṇḍavat pranams after seeing others offering sāṣṭāṅga daṇḍavat pranams.

When we sat there for a while and were having his darśan, I felt a strange thrilling sensation in my body and my heart said this is my Gurudev.

Mahārāj glanced at me many times and then asked, “How do you happen to be here?”

I answered, “I need your mercy.”

To this Mahārāj replied, “Now perform parikramā.”

To tell you the truth, I do not even know how to talk with the saints, so I would remain quiet, but I would go now and then to Mahārāj’s room for his darśan.

At the end of parikramā, Om Viṣṇupada Paramahaṁsa 108 Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāj, the most merciful crown-jewel of saints and redeemer of the fallen, blessed both of us by Śri Hāriṇam-mahāmantra showering his mercy on us at Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha, Śrī Vṛndāvana. Later in 1994 during the annual function of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha at Chandigarh and also Śrīla Gurudev’s āvirbhāva-tithi, he graced us with dīkṣā too.

Every year, we'd have darśan of Śrīla Gurudev, but because of the short duration, my mind was not satisfied, it desires to have darśan continuously.

—Śrī Pradyumna Das (Om Prakash Gupta), Simla

Translated from Sri Krishna Chaitanya Sandesh July-Oct, 1997 (Year 17, Issue No.4, Page 50-52)






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