Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

In Gokul Mahavan in 1993 the deities were damaged. This news reached Srila Gurudeva at Pathankot where he was stationed then.   After hearing the news, without showing any external instability and keeping his pain suppressed within his heart, he consulted some Vaishnavas and sent them to Gokul.    Later after sometime when He came to Gokul Mahavan from Jammu, He saw all the damaged deities and remained completely silent. After that, he came to the assembly hall and began to sing Sri Narasimha prayers. He could not contain his pain and cried out so loudly that it seemed like the whole universe would break. Hearing the sound of those cries, the hearts of all present there were stirred.    No one would cry so much, even in separation grief from loved ones or relatives as much as Srila Guru Maharaj cried in separation grief from the Supreme Lord, and went on telling that due to my offenses Supreme Lord has deprived me of His service.   —Swarup Damodar Das, Delhi Translated from

Sri Guru Maharaj is a storehouse of positive qualities.   The magnitude of his forbearance cannot be explained in words.   All  24 hours of the day he is engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord.   I have never seen anger on his face anytime.   Guruji speaks to all who go to his room with so much affection that every person feels that Guruji spoke in a very special way to him.   Every person comes out of his room after darshan in a blissful mood.   This tolerance and patience he exhibits cannot be seen in any ordinary soul.   Sometimes speaking Harikatha it will be 12 o’clock. at night.   After Harikatha, Srila Guru Maharaj has to remain in the same place for quite some time because devotees block his way while doing pranam.   Such times he is seen to be very patient.   I have never seen him forcibly lift his feet and move forward during these times.   I have no words to say to describe his patience. In 1997 in Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math’s annual function at Chandigarh at the e

A lady came to meet Srila Gurudev while he was in Chandigarh. She requested to speak to him without others around. She told us she was very unhappy and was thinking about committing suicide. I told her that Gurudev would not like this and we gave her a chance to meet him. She was asked to stand in the end of the que for prasad and when her turn came, I told Guru Maharaj that this lady wanted to speak to him. She was very distressed and she told him, "My in-laws trouble me so much. They constantly curse me, and I want to die. Gurudev then replied, "Did your in-laws push you from the hilltop? Did they push you in the fire?" She responded,  "No Gurudeva.  They only speak these terrible things and I cannot bear it." Srila Gurudev continued, "Prahlad Maharaj was troubled so much. He was pushed from a hilltop, drowned in the ocean, kicked by an elephant, pushed into a fire— still, he did not disrespect his father. By your karma, you have got such a husban