He Walks Behind Śrī Guru-varga

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I am speaking my heart. There were many instances like when going on parikramā, he [Śrīla Gurudev Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāj] would keep our Gurudeva Bhakti Pramod Puri Gosvāmī  Ṭhākur in the very front and follow him from behind. Not like [a mood of] "I am Ācārya, I go in the front. "

I also saw him keep Trivikram Mahārāj in the front and follow him in parikramā. He would give respect to one and all. This is the characteristic of a Vaiṣṇava. 

When Mahārāj left the world I felt a big void has been created in the vaiṣṇavatā of the Vaiṣṇava-dharma. Today it is very difficult to find personalities with such qualities. I have seen this in my life. These days the condition is very bad. Nobody respects each other, but I have seen this in my Guru Mahārāj and Tirtha Mahārāj. 

Every day Tirtha Mahārāj would visit Guru Mahārāj in his room after sandhyā-ārati and Gurujī would offer him dandavat praṇāms and Tirtha Mahārāj would offer dandavat praṇāms to him. And every day I would hear the same words being spoken, "Mahārāj, You are my guru. Why should you be offering me dandavats like this?’ And my Gurujī would say, "I am not offering dandavats to you. Your chair is Mādhava Mahārāj’s chair, your sannyās clothes (vastra) are Mahāprabhu’s robes, I am offering praṇāms to them."

They were expressing such feelings. In spite of being Ācārya, he would leave his room and come upstairs every day without fail after sandhyā-ārati to just offer dandavats to Gurujī. I am Gurujī’s sevak, so I witnessed everything. It is not that someone spoke to me this and I am repeating it. I have seen this with my very eyes. 

Vaiṣṇava-dharma’s roots which are humility, simplicity, forbearance, and tolerance are fully manifest in him. Now I feel a great deficit of these qualities in the Vaiṣṇava society. Where shall I go where I can find such Vaiṣṇava qualities? Everything is artificial now. But in my Gurudev, it was naturally found. 

—Śrīla Bhakti Vibudha Bodhāyana Mahārāj

Transcribed and excerpted from a translation from Hindi live-streamed on 1 Apr 2019 by Vishwambhar Das




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