His Loving Reminders of Our Actual Position
It is said that if a day goes by that we miss observing the appearance/disappearance of great Vaisnavas, it is a big offence. Therefore, I have put together this little attempt of puspanjali of remembrances of other devotees, as well as my own memories of Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami. May it purify my mind and give me unflinching, one-pointed, exclusive devotion for my ista-dev. Any faults are certainly mine, and please correct me, while anything good is the mercy of Krsna and Vaisnavas.
The first time I went to Radha Kund was with Srila Guru Maharaja and a small group of about 15 devotees, most of us foreigners. Guru Maharaja spoke very strongly that it was a great offense to touch Radha Kund with our feet, and we should simply sprinkle a few drops onto our heads, praying for Her blessings. However, he did add that if a person really wants to take bath anyway, he should prostrate himself 108 times while repeating a mantra asking for forgiveness over and over. I observed that one of his disciples very quickly kept getting down and standing up while chanting this and thereafter, went in eagerly. But observed that Guru Maharaja did not go in himself, so I was confused and sprinkled some drops on my head.
Gurudeva had a sense of humor. When a child would approach him, I would see his eyes twinkle, and he would connect with that kid. Srila Bhakti Vijnana Bharati Maharaja recounts, “In Sarbhog, there was one young boy who visited us regularly and would always refer to pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja as peṭa moṭā sādhu, or a fat-bellied saint. Śrīpāda Mādhavānanda Prabhu was chubbier than pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja, who was in fact not so chubby, and so we were quite surprised to hear the boy use this term for pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja and not Śrīpāda Mādhavānanda Prabhu. We could not understand why this young boy was repeatedly calling him this name, until one day I saw pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja alone with this boy. Mahārāja-jī was breathing in deeply to expand his belly, which he would then show to the boy. We then understood why the boy was calling pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja peṭa moṭā sādhu.” -(taken from Visuddha Caitanya-vani Vol. 1)
As the loudspeaker system of Sri Caitanya Gaudiya Math was always turned up very loudly, once I had the audacity to approach Guru Maharaja to ask if it might be turned to a more moderate level. During an evening program, he announced, “Many people come and say that the speakers are too loud.” I thought that Guru Maharaja was about to agree with my proposal. “I say they are not loud enough!" He finished with a chuckle.
There was a devotee from America at that time that described herself as "moti from eating too many roti so that she couldn't put on her dhoti." That same woman first sent me to Guru Maharaj, and used to regularly pick up pythons and cobras from snake charmers, and place them around her neck.
On one occasion I distinctly remember Guruji glancing at her, and with only his eyes, telling her no, as she was about to pick up a snake. She became afraid of disregarding a Mahatma, and stopped. Another time, Guru Maharaj yelled a warning in an amusing way to the snake charmers to, "Beware! This mataji (a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami) will steal your snakes, and then what will you do!?" That time also she could not touch them.
A third time, she was at Govardhan without Guru Maharaj and was bitten on the hand while picking up a cobra. She had to be taken by automobile to a distant hospital for treatment with anti-venom.
Guru Maharaja traveled around the world preaching 3 times. He said that when he was first requested by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami to come to the west, he was not able, because of service to his Guru Maharaja. While we listened enthusiastically to his Harikatha on the 2001 tour, Guru Maharaja said he was so unfortunate to be in the USA, and missing the Jhulan yatra festival going on in India. To one crowd which was composed of mostly of devotees who’d either left or been kicked out of ISKCON, he told us, “Please don’t let this ISKCON fall apart.”
Guru Maharaja had a personal servant named Tamal Krsna das. I once told Guru Maharaja that I wanted to serve him like Tamal Krsna prabhu. He told me quite frankly that I will never serve him like Tamal Krsna does.
I came to SCGM just after serving in ISKCON for many years. Many things seemed similar to ISKCON, so when I asked Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaja where and how he would like me to preach, I was totally surprised by his answer. “What will you preach?”
“Devotional service,” I replied naively. “You have never performed devotional service once in your entire life!” What?! But I had been dancing in kirtan, distributing prasadam to elderly and homeless people, washing Thakurji's dishes, chanting japa for years… Then I spontaneously remembered something I had read in a book by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, “Guru means he who knows better than you.” I felt time was suspended in a feeling of disbelief. Perhaps I had misunderstood something in my ISKCON days. I realized that there was no point in my asking him to be my guru, if I wouldn’t try to understand and accept knowledge from him.
For both receiving Harinama and also diksa, after fasting and putting on a new, never-worn sari, Guru Maharaja tested me several times in a way that was similar to how Srila Gour Kishor das babaji did with Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He made me wait.
Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaja, ki jaya!
—Gita Dasi, Holland
The first time I went to Radha Kund was with Srila Guru Maharaja and a small group of about 15 devotees, most of us foreigners. Guru Maharaja spoke very strongly that it was a great offense to touch Radha Kund with our feet, and we should simply sprinkle a few drops onto our heads, praying for Her blessings. However, he did add that if a person really wants to take bath anyway, he should prostrate himself 108 times while repeating a mantra asking for forgiveness over and over. I observed that one of his disciples very quickly kept getting down and standing up while chanting this and thereafter, went in eagerly. But observed that Guru Maharaja did not go in himself, so I was confused and sprinkled some drops on my head.
Gurudeva had a sense of humor. When a child would approach him, I would see his eyes twinkle, and he would connect with that kid. Srila Bhakti Vijnana Bharati Maharaja recounts, “In Sarbhog, there was one young boy who visited us regularly and would always refer to pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja as peṭa moṭā sādhu, or a fat-bellied saint. Śrīpāda Mādhavānanda Prabhu was chubbier than pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja, who was in fact not so chubby, and so we were quite surprised to hear the boy use this term for pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja and not Śrīpāda Mādhavānanda Prabhu. We could not understand why this young boy was repeatedly calling him this name, until one day I saw pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja alone with this boy. Mahārāja-jī was breathing in deeply to expand his belly, which he would then show to the boy. We then understood why the boy was calling pūjyapāda Tīrtha Mahārāja peṭa moṭā sādhu.” -(taken from Visuddha Caitanya-vani Vol. 1)
As the loudspeaker system of Sri Caitanya Gaudiya Math was always turned up very loudly, once I had the audacity to approach Guru Maharaja to ask if it might be turned to a more moderate level. During an evening program, he announced, “Many people come and say that the speakers are too loud.” I thought that Guru Maharaja was about to agree with my proposal. “I say they are not loud enough!" He finished with a chuckle.
There was a devotee from America at that time that described herself as "moti from eating too many roti so that she couldn't put on her dhoti." That same woman first sent me to Guru Maharaj, and used to regularly pick up pythons and cobras from snake charmers, and place them around her neck.
On one occasion I distinctly remember Guruji glancing at her, and with only his eyes, telling her no, as she was about to pick up a snake. She became afraid of disregarding a Mahatma, and stopped. Another time, Guru Maharaj yelled a warning in an amusing way to the snake charmers to, "Beware! This mataji (a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami) will steal your snakes, and then what will you do!?" That time also she could not touch them.
A third time, she was at Govardhan without Guru Maharaj and was bitten on the hand while picking up a cobra. She had to be taken by automobile to a distant hospital for treatment with anti-venom.
Guru Maharaja traveled around the world preaching 3 times. He said that when he was first requested by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami to come to the west, he was not able, because of service to his Guru Maharaja. While we listened enthusiastically to his Harikatha on the 2001 tour, Guru Maharaja said he was so unfortunate to be in the USA, and missing the Jhulan yatra festival going on in India. To one crowd which was composed of mostly of devotees who’d either left or been kicked out of ISKCON, he told us, “Please don’t let this ISKCON fall apart.”
Guru Maharaja had a personal servant named Tamal Krsna das. I once told Guru Maharaja that I wanted to serve him like Tamal Krsna prabhu. He told me quite frankly that I will never serve him like Tamal Krsna does.
I came to SCGM just after serving in ISKCON for many years. Many things seemed similar to ISKCON, so when I asked Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaja where and how he would like me to preach, I was totally surprised by his answer. “What will you preach?”
“Devotional service,” I replied naively. “You have never performed devotional service once in your entire life!” What?! But I had been dancing in kirtan, distributing prasadam to elderly and homeless people, washing Thakurji's dishes, chanting japa for years… Then I spontaneously remembered something I had read in a book by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, “Guru means he who knows better than you.” I felt time was suspended in a feeling of disbelief. Perhaps I had misunderstood something in my ISKCON days. I realized that there was no point in my asking him to be my guru, if I wouldn’t try to understand and accept knowledge from him.
For both receiving Harinama and also diksa, after fasting and putting on a new, never-worn sari, Guru Maharaja tested me several times in a way that was similar to how Srila Gour Kishor das babaji did with Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He made me wait.
Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaja, ki jaya!
—Gita Dasi, Holland
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