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...
I cannot forget my first darśana of Śrīla Gurudeva. By the mercy of the devotees, I had been attracted by the unalloyed devotion expressed in his kīrtans and books. Before I knew it, I took a train from Vṛndāvana and arrived at the Sree Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha in Kolkata. On the way, I remembered the rule of thumb that the Guru and the disciple should test each other for at least one year before initiation. After the devotees had introduced me to Śrīla Gurudeva, he looked at me with affection and asked, “Have you taken initiation?” “No, Mahārāja”, I answered. Guru Mahārāja smiled softly and said, “You should take initiation.” My heart understood; it was racing, and I could not speak. I could hardly believe it. An hour had not yet passed—what to speak of a year—and he had already accepted me. He didn’t give me a second to think. Before my mind could ponder if he is my Guru, he made it clear that I was his. His immediate acceptance was like an overwhelming a...
During my first visit to India in 2008, I happily took harināma initiation from Śrīla Gurudeva in Māyāpur-dhāma. Some senior devotees urged me to immediately take dīkṣā then also. I didn’t really understand the reasons to take dīkṣā, and also felt unqualified to even ask for it. Nevertheless, I went to Śrīla Gurudeva and asked. He gravely inquired why I wanted it, and feeling a little bit conscience-stricken to ask so soon after having received harināma initiation, I replied that the devotees urged me to take it. Śrīla Gurudeva then told me to do some devotional practice first. After that, I went back to the Netherlands and started, according to my limited capability, and despite my manifold drawbacks and anarthas, to perform devotional practice with a bit more intensity than before. Even though I felt my efforts were inadequate, by Śrīla Gurudeva's blessings, I was able to attend the Navadvipa-dhāma parikramā of 2009. It was a purifying and auspicious time. I went again to...
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