His Sound Vibration Emanates Directly From Transcendental Reality

The effect of Srila Gurudev’s sound is unlike anything I have ever heard. Even today when a recording of the same mangalacharan prayers is being played, there is a deep kind of seriousness that is conveyed. That sound is out of the world.  

In fact, I remember there was one senior sanyassi, a disciple of Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Goswami Maharaj told us about when Srila Gurudev was going on Kshetra mandal and Vraj mandal parikrama. He said when our Guru Maharaj describes anything in Vraj mandal—about the place, about the pastimes; it appears as if he is giving live commentary.  He is seeing it and he is telling us what he sees in reality. I have practically experienced the difference in the speech of Gurudev and how it affects me—completely different than when I hear from others.  

If I am calling out the holy names or repeating pastimes that we have heard, or singing mangalacharan, it is not at all the same feeling than when we hear from Guru Maharaj.  He is a person who has all the faith compared to an ordinary person who has little faith.  And that faith is embedded in that sound and that is what impacts the audience and their heart. 

Srila Bhakti Vivek Bharati Maharaj was a  disciple of Srila Prabhupad. If I am recalling correctly, he had said his house was next to Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur’s house, Surabhi kunj in Godrumdvip. When he was child, Bhaktivinode Thakur was living there and he had his darshan. Later on he took initiation from Prabhupad.  He had described somewhere that he had heard Bhaktivinode Thakur performing japa in the mornings while strolling in his area and he says when he was performing japa it used to appear that he is speaking to somebody, he is not performing japa.  

And that is exactly what I could relate to Srila Gurudev’s quality of speaking. Whether he is chanting, whether he is leading kirtan, whether he is speaking harikatha, whether he is describing the glories of Druva Maharaj, whether he is describing the glories of Prahlad Maharaj, whether he is in Vraj mandal parikrama, etc. 

When Guru Maharaj speaks, it appears as if he is seeing and then he is speaking.  When we speak, we just recall what we have heard and then we speak.  So there is a huge difference in that speech and how much impact it will have.  For example, with my own experience of calling out the holy names, I have very little faith that Supreme Lord is actually listening.  

Our whole movement is about sound,  and sound makes so much difference.  By His grace, even in the case of recorded sound, it remains highly impactful. 

—Naveen Krishna Das