Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

Whenever Guru Mahārāj would come to Chandigarh or Bathinda on pracār , one tall Sikh Punjabi gentleman in his late seventies would come to listen to Gurudev. He was very well-versed in scriptures, in guru-vani, ( Guru Granth Sahib ) and knew Śrī Ram Chārit Manas by heart. I observed that Gurudev would give him a friendly smile whenever he came for darśans . He would often speak to devotees in Punjabi, saying, "You will not find such a Gurujī easily. I have traveled to many holy places, attended so many spiritual seminars, and I have met many sadhus , but I have never seen such a genuine sadhu at any time in my life." He would follow Guru Mahārāj to such places as Dehradun, Chandigarh, and Bathinda to hear his hāri-kathā . He would also say, "Even if I cannot follow his hāri-kathā , I would feel happy just glancing at his face and felt convinced that I will never get such a sadhu 's association anywhere, anytime." Sometimes Gurujī would ask him to speak in th...

Bhāgavat-kathā and guru-kathā are the same, non-different from each other. Our Vṛndāvan Maṭh's Śrīla Bhakti Prasād Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj would say, “In this world, there are only two nectars: one is ś rī hāriṇam-sankīrtan and the other is hāri-kathā , guru-kathā .” Hāri-kathā is so very potent that it can revive life to even a dead, stone-like heart. Hāri-kathā empowers one to perform bhajan , to serve guru and vaiṣṇavas , and to listen more to hāri-kathā in the association of devotees. In 2013 I took a few of my god-brothers' children to Kolkata Maṭh for hāriṇam initiation from Gurudev. When I met Śrīla Bhakti Vijñān Bharati Mahārāj he said that it is a very great fortune that the boys are getting japa malās touched by Śrīla Tirtha Mahārāj. He asked if there is any great personality equal to him in this material world now? He repeatedly said, "It is very good, it is very good." So, it is my sincere request that these boys should consider themselves very very ...

Those who are attracted to Śrīla Guru Mahārāj's lectures through video or personally know that he always quotes this verse from Śrī Gurv Aṣṭakam (Verse 7): sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam In translation, it says that Śrī Guru, the Spiritual Master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and approved by all ācāryas . Therefore I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master who is a bonafide representative of Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His dedication and love for his Gurudev Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāj are completely sublime, he is so touched, he is so in love with his Gurudev that he practically cries when he thinks about Gurudev. I also have, not very much as compared to him, but I have some connection with him, I do have affection for hi...

During Māyāpur parikramā , Gurudev used to lead us barefoot. When Gurudev saw me, he was very happy and offered his prasādī garland to me. Śānti Prabhu (who is Bhajanonmukh Mahārāj now) was the personal sevāk of Guru Mahārāj then. He used to give me some services in Guru Mahārāj's room such as cleaning, etc. Seeing me do the service sincerely, Śānti Prabhu was pleased and thought if I give him some service he will do it nicely. So he gave me small services like carrying an umbrella, water bottle, or a bag for Guru Mahārāj while going on parikramā .  On the final day in the parikramā of Rudradvīpa, Śānti Prabhu fell ill and he could not go with Guru Mahārāj on parikramā . He gave me some money and told me to keep it with me until Guru Mahārāj asked for it in order to offer praṇāmi at certain places. So I kept the money in my pocket.  In Rudradvīpa, Guru Mahārāj spoke the glories of the place and after kirtan and over, Gurudev asked me if Śānti Prabhu gave you some praṇāmi . I...