Having Him in Our Lives, We Need Not Ask For Anything More

We are all connected with our Spiritual Master or our spiritual father and our hidden feelings come out more on this viraha-tithi to show that we are connected because all our hidden feelings come out. Maybe those feelings are eclipsed by our environment, but they are very strong inside us. Who can ever think that our Guru Mahārāj is not there? 

Guru-tattva is very subtle, very intricate. Guru-tattva is manifested in your feelings, in your thoughts, and in your expressions; we can feel this is guru-tattva. 

Sometimes it comes to my mind why is it that we could not realize Gurudev's tattva when we were with him. He was so simple, so gentle, so soft, and so encouraging. Our Padmanābha Mahārāj said Gurudev will like to remove the fear of the disciple so that a disciple can express his thoughts. Guru Mahārāj makes us fearless when speaking out our hearts to him. And sometimes we become assured that we can say whatever we want to him.



I remember traveling with Guru Mahārāj all over India and all over the world. They were very special times. In India, most of our travels were in ordinary sleeper class— the train was fully packed, it was difficult to even breathe inside the compartment, and the journey would sometimes take two or three days. So we used to pack everything with us. Today Padmanābha Mahārāj reminded me of all those days. Everyone was having a big backpack or as we called it a "hold-all" in which our all belongings: sleeping mat, mosquito net, utensils like thāli, glass, etc. were carried in one pack.

On the way, we had preparations planned ahead for what we will eat that day, the next day, etc. Padmanābha Mahārāj said we had wild unpeeled potatoes with us and we used to make something like muri-chat by cutting peeled potatoes and also had some salad with lemon. Guru Mahārāj was walking a bit inside the train with his hand inside his bead bag, moving to and fro slowly. He would inspect what we were doing sometimes. He'd say, "Dekha, bina aag ke rasoi kaise hota hai," Meaning, wow can you cook without fire? And when prasād was ready to be served, Guru Mahārāj would say, "You serve extra potatoes to Acintya Govinda Prabhu (Padmanābha Mahārāj's name at the time.) These are such sweet, transcendental pastimes. That train journey used to give us so much bliss—it is inexpressible.

I remember how we went to different villages, remote places, unknown persons' homes, stayed in huts in forests, and had many different kinds of experiences. Some places had no electricity or fan. All those experiences were wonderful just because Guru Mahārāj's presence was there and we never thought that this would ever stop, it seemed as though it was an ever-fresh, ongoing process.

After we'd come back from Vṛndāvan we would prepare to go to Jagannātha Puri. After we came from Puri, we prepared to go for Kārtik, and then we for Gaura-pūrṇimā and then Assam tour. Like this, we were always on the move. Every day Guru Mahārāj would give an average of five lectures and we got to hear different topics from him every day. 

The best part of the whole journey and the whole experience was hearing from Gurudeva. It was like Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa's flute sound that makes you stunned. You just relish hearing the nectar coming and pouring inside your heart through your ears. Gurudev's style was very unique. He would add his transcendental soft nuances, a little humor, some anecdotes, and so many things that transmit you to a different plane altogether.

 

The most important contribution of Guru Mahārāj to this world is the legacy he left, his disciples. I heard Pūjyapāda Srīmad Bhakti Prapanna Tirtha Mahārāj (of Sri Caitanya Saraswat Math) say that is the greatest contribution. There is some part of Gurudev in all of you and others can see it. I can feel the unique connections each disciple has when they speak about him on viraha-tithi.

I used to feel reflective when Guru Mahārāj spoke about bala-līlā (childhood pastimes) of Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. He was very fond of dama-bandha-līlā, especially when Kṛṣṇa stops Mother Yashoda from making yogurt. I used to sometimes wonder how Vrajavāsīs, Mother Yaśodā, and Nanda Baba survived the separation of Kṛṣṇa when He went to Mathura. Even if a person sees Supreme Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa once for a split second, he cannot survive without seeing Him again after that. 

How did these Vrajavāsīs survive? The Associates of Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa have transcendental hearts. We cannot understand but they are so strong— like their arteries and veins are made of steel. They may be beaten, but they keep going. Separation grief remains, but they can tolerate it. We do not have that kind of connection, but I feel all of you have something of that kind of connection with Gurudev; you have this resilience inside you and you are carrying on in your life wherever way you are, whatever you're doing, you have those strong nerves of steel inside you that carry you on.

To have someone like Gurudev in his or her life I think you cannot ask anything more from Kṛṣṇa; you do not need anything more because Guru Mahārāj's love and affection for us is infinite, it is eternal, it is ever-flowing, and it is always there. Knowing this gives us fearlessness; it gives us our next breath. Having Gurudev in our life, we cannot ask for anything more. 


—Rasabihari Das 

Source: English transcript from GOKUL meeting