Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

I had been living for some years in a Vaisnava-ashram in Switzerland that was very high in the mountains.  This place where devotees lived and practiced together was called Ananda dham. While I was practicing there, I  met many sadhus, but none of them called my heart. For over one year I prayed: “Oh Krishna, how can I choose a Guru? Would I choose him because he looks like a father, or because he's  there in a nice community around I feel well with? I understood when I prayed that I cannot see see what is best for me, so when I prayed I asked it to be revealed to me who is the  best guru for me.  I really thought only Krishna can choose him, not me. Someone asked me to follow his Gurudev so I tried to find out if this was the right guru for me, but my heart didn’t have any reaction and I didn’t accept. I kept on praying. Suddenly I got an email from Arjuna Prabhu from Holland, who had been in the sevak team of Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj in his...

While reading Bhagavat, Srila Gurudeva always recited slokas in Sanskrit. He also advised us to sing bhajans in the language in which they were written by great Vaishnav acharyas. He said that within these sounds bhava is present— the mentality of the love of God which we get from acharyas. Any translation conveys the realization and state of mind of an interpreter. Our Gurudev said that if there will be such a poet and translator on the level of realization that is comparable to Bhaktivinoda Thakura and other great acharyas, then we'll sing the bhajans in our native language. Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur underlined that in order to understand Harikatha or shastra, it's not enough to be just having a knowledge of the language. Even without understanding the language, having the feeling in the heart in the form of bhava, inherent in the words of the saints, you can obtain the eternal spiritual benefit. The Lord is called bhava-grahi, the one who looks at o...

Many people have asked about this photograph. It was taken by Bindu Madhava das of France, Monday 16 August 1999, during the time that Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj and His entourage were in Phoenix, Arizona. A rather unusual program had been arranged for that particular evening at a place called the "Mountain Temple Center" which actually was the home of a local magician named Michael Crowley (a descendent of Alistair Crowley). Michael is a very humble and deferential person and he was extremely desirous of having Maharaj come speak at the Center. The Center sits atop a small mountain in the middle of a mountain preserve that runs right through the center of north Phoenix. Due to the small size of the house, it had been decided that the program be held outside. There, Michael had constructed a stone circle, like a miniature Stone Henge. The program was to take place inside this circle. Earlier that day, Maharaj inquired as to the nature of the program that evening...

When we were in St. Francis school, I went with Gurudev to the āśram of Tripurāri Mahārāj. Some sannyāsīs were there from Iskcon and other places. Harikathā was going on, and as soon as Gurudev reached there, he gave daṇḍavat to everyone. Once in Āgartalā, a disciple of Jayapatākā Mahārāj came. As soon as Gurudev saw him, he came down and payed daṇḍavats to him. He said, you are the disciple of my dear Godbrother, I should pay obeisances to you remembering him. It is difficult to see senior sannyāsīs bow down and give daṇḍavat to anybody but Gurudev’s humility was always beyond our imagination. —Hariprasad Das