His Never-ending Enthusiasm for Speaking Harikatha

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Once during Mayapur parikram after the day we go to Vidyānāgar, I was very tired. I was leaning against a pillar and I started sleeping. Then Gurudev came and gave a whole lecture. One thing I have observed that Gurudev had so much endurance and energy. Even after being up so late, he never neglected to attend mangal arati. Even in his own room, he wouldn’t rest because devotees would keep coming to his room. We have never seen Gurudev being sleepy or drowsy. He has such a taste for Harikatha. I’ve never even seen him yawn.

Once in Ramdas' house, a sannyasi spoke for two hours. Gurudev was always silently listening. Even though the other sanyassi spoke so long, Gurudev was also not short, he gave a long katha after that.

There was another program where all the speakers were giving 15 minutes lecture. Gurudev said, in 15 minutes I can only give vandana! He took 15 minutes to give vandana, and his katha after that was so good that nobody stopped him.

Once we went to Ramakrishna Mission in Bangalore. They told us they start arati at 6pm sharp. We conveyed this to Gurudev. At 5:05pm sharp, Gurudev came to the stage and started his vandana. Then from 5:15pm to 6pm— 45 minutes precisely, Gurudev gave a lecture. At the end, he said, it is 6pm, I have finished my kathā! That particular recording we have (2004), it is very sharp and precise, a summary of the whole Bhagavad-gītā in 45 minutes. 

—Hariprasad Das



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