He Is the Sun in the Gaudiya Sky

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We are all very fortunate that by Gurudeva's mercy we are at the shelter of his lotus feet.  Our Gurudeva is wonderful, one without a second. There is no one equal to or greater than him and He is an incomparable treasure of good qualities: adbhuta,(marvelous), advitīya (without a second), asamordhva (no one is equal to Him).

Whatever qualities of sadhu and guru that scriptures sing, our Gurudev is the embodiment of them all. While it is natural that the disciples sing the glories of their Gurudev, it becomes special when his guru-varga sings the glories of our most worshipful Guru Maharaj. Param Pujyapad Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Maharaj, Param Pujyapad Bhakti Kumud Sant Maharaj and others blessed him.

Once when I was in Vrndavan, our Guru Maharaj and Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Gosvami Maharaj were also in the maṭha along with their associates. At that time, Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Gosvami Maharaj who is one of the most prominent disciples of Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Goswami Thakur, said, “All the gauḍīya-sannyasis are the parts of my body, but Srimad Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj is the core of my heart.” Perhaps we have never heard such words from any of the disciples of Srila Prabhupad for anyone except for our Guru Maharaj.  

He also said, “There is no other Sun in the Gauḍīya sky like Srila Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Maharaj and in the future, there will be one such Sun; there is doubt about this.” Such words may seem ordinary to us, but it is coming from guru-varga who are a generation above. The senior Vaishnavas are not easily satisfied and pleased by the upcoming younger generation and they tend to find faults in their conduct due to a generational gap causing changes in nature, conduct, and faith. So, if such words are coming from guru-varga, then for sure there must have been such wonderful ideal conduct of our Guru Maharaj. By his ideal sevā he has won the mind and hearts of his guru-varga and his Guru Maharaj. If you go to any institute in Mayapur and say I am a disciple of Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj or I am from Madhava Maharaj's maṭha, even the sannyasis there will offer you pranams with great regard.  

Guru Govind dono khade kake lagu paay 

Balihari Guru aapki Govind diyo batay

[Translation: Kabir says when Guru and Lord both are in front of me, whom shall I bow down first? I bow down to my guru because he is the one who showed me the path to the Lord].

Sab dharti kagaj karu, lekhni sab banray

Saat samunder ki masi karu, gurugun likha na jaaye

[Translation: Kabir says the glory of guru is immense and beyond words.  By collecting all the paper of the earth, making the pen of the wood of all trees in the forest, and making the ink of the waters of the seven seas, even then one cannot write the glories of sad-guru].

Glorious words like the savior of the fallen (patita-pavan), ocean of compassion and mercy (dayamoy, krpamoy) all find their true meaning and significance in Guru Maharaj.  May be the words dayamoy, krpamoy may have limitations in them, but our Gurudev's mercy is beyond limitations, it is boundless.  We may call him Sun of Gauḍīya sky, we may call him an ocean of mercy, and embodiment of dedication to guru (guru-niṣṭha). In Guru, Vaishnav, and Lord's sevā, he has sacrificed his life and soul.  He has sacrificed all his wishes, desires, and has surrendered himself fully in Sri Krsna sankīrtan-yajna.  Such an ideal example is our Guru Maharaj. This can be known from the statements of guru-varga.

The first time when I came for Guru Maharaj's darshan, I had come with my mother here to Chandigarh maṭha. I was going to write my SSLC exam then.  My mother had given me ten rupees to offer to Guru Maharaj as pranami and I offered it with my left hand.  Then Gurudeva told me, "One should not give nor take anything with his left hand."  This is the first teaching Guru Maharaj gave me.  Guru Maharaj has such śiṣya-vātsalya for his disciples and is a Gosvami who has conquered the six urges unfavorable for bhakti spoken by Sri Rupa Gosvami in Sri Upadeshamrta, verse 1. Guru-nishta, guru-bhakti is the very life of ananya-bhakti (one-pointed exclusive devotion) to Lord. Once in ISKCON when Srila Jayapataka Maharaj told Guru Maharaj that the panchānga (vaishnava calendar) we follow is not very advanced, our Gurudev's simple reply was, "Our Guru Maharaj follows this panchānga."  His one perfect reply for all questions.  His words express his guru-nishta. He says, "Guruji can give everything that the Lord can bestow and Guruji can give even that which the Lord cannot bestow."

Once when Guruji was to travel from Kolkata to Mayapur, he did not consider his health condition nor doctor's advice not to undertake tedious travels, For his convenience, I arranged a film industry's vehicle for his comfortable travel, but he simply insisted that he travel by Guptaji's car which was quite old and not in good running condition. He said that Guptaji had given the car and had told him to use it while going to Mayapur. Guptaji had left the world some 4-5 years back and still, Guruji is remembering and is honoring the request of the devotee to use his car.

Seeing externally, Guru Maharaj seemed so innocent, not so strong as if he could not do anything by Himself, but he has the power of the Lord within him which normally others cannot see.  He did everything but gave the credit to others.  

Guptaji [his disciple] had an accident and was laid up in the bed at his residence with one leg raised and hung.  When Guruji and Srila Puri Gosvami Maharaj visited him, Guptaji desired that Gurudev's feet be placed upon his chest. Then Puri Gosvami Maharaj by force kept Guru Maharaj's feet on the chest of Guptaji and he cried so much that his heart got cleansed very thoroughly and subsequent to the incident he started chanting three lakh names daily.  

When Guruji told that Guptaji can do some sevā in Sri Mayapur-dham, with great enthusiasm he asked his son to write a cheque for Rs. 5 lakhs. Later his son told that all the incoming funds that had got blocked in their business started coming in automatically.  Guruji would make others the medium,  but behind them, it is Guruji's power that would manifest and accomplish these projects.  Guptaji is one best example of how Gurudev's grace and mercy can pull one up to such spiritual height to attain love for Krsna.  

In his house, he had the walls of his room full of Gurudev's photos and on a big screen, he would watch Gurudev's videos of Vrndavan parikrama and others in which he also had participated in.  He told me, I wish to remain sick always, because in my mind one time I am in Vrndavan and yet another time in Mayapur, on parikrama with Guruji. Without even a moment's sleep, he would do hāriṇam.  

I also pray for the grace of Guru Maharaj. May he be pleased with me. May the pleasure of guru, vaishnav and Bhagavan be the only goal of our life.

—Sripad Bhakti Bibbudh Muni Maharaj

Spoken on 4th Annual Viraha Mahotsav of  Srila Gurudeva on 5.5.2021 at Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Maṭh Chandigarh

Excerpt from a transcription-translation from Hindi to English





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