Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

Personally, I didn't have much association with Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Due to my offenses and misunderstanding him, I didn't get his association until 2013 when I met him in Kolkata. At that time he was in that half-internal half-external stage. Every day, I'd line up with the many devotees in Kolkata Maṭha to receive prasādam from him and we had a few words here and there. I know what he was doing when he was distributing prasādam . I learned from Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja that when pure devotees give prasādam , they take away anarthas and give kṛṣṇa-prema . So I was happy to have his darśana every day for maybe a couple of weeks. I'd watch him along with his associates go into the bhajan-kuṭira  of his Guru Mahārāja. He was very slowly and deliberately offering flowers and prayers reciting the same prayer aloud regarding the name and address of his maṭha and the ownership of the maṭha to his Guru Mahārāja, reflecting his

I had my first darśan of Gurujī in Chandigarh maṭh. My grandmother's house is in Chandigarh and I had heard that the evening ārati in the Śrī Rādhākṛṣṇa mandir in Sector B was splendid. During my holidays whenever I was in my grandmother's place I used to visit there with my friends. My first darśan of Gurujī was there in 2010 when I was completing my degree. One Sunday afternoon Kṛṣṇa das prabhu offered to take me for Gurujī's darśan . I had heard from my grandfather that when we go for darśan of saints and elders, we should not go empty-handed, so I asked Kṛṣṇa das prabhujī what Gurujī likes and went with some packets of Marie Gold biscuits to offer to him. When I offered pranāms and offered him the biscuits, he asked, "How did you know that I eat this?" I said, "Kṛṣṇa das prabhujī told me." He gave prasādam and offering pranāms , we came out. I did not speak anything much with him. After that, my visits to the maṭh became regular and I started

Today is the Viraha Mahotsav of our Most Revered Śrīla Guru Mahārāja. Śrī Mādana Prabhu, (personal sevāk of Śrīla Param Gurudev), explained the meaning of the word viraha . It is made up of two words: vi and raha (in hindi, visesha rupa se rehena ) meaning to reside in a very special way. We understand viraha as separation from someone, to remain far away from someone. But in the spiritual description, it means to reside very close to our worshipable object in a very special way. As described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta , vaiṣṇavas experience great bliss in viraha . We had the good fortune of witnessing the viraha pastimes of Guru Mahārāja during his manifest pastimes in this material world. We have seen how our Gurudev has intimately served his Gurudev in the mood of guru-gata-prana , with great dedication. We have also witnessed how he would weep in separation from his Gurudev. When he entered Param Gurudev's bhajan kuṭīra , he would express his feelings of separation a

I often feel that to try to sing Gurudev's glories is like worshipping the Sun by offering a small lamp. Guru Mahārāja's lifestyle, his ideals, his conduct, his kathā , and  kirtan  which we have seen are all so wonderful; it is not possible to describe. Guru Mahārāja must have had great experiences while visiting various sādhus , places, and through various pastimes, but he never shared them in his hari-kathā with the purpose of boasting about himself. Often he was heard speaking about his Gurudev; he always repeated his Gurudev's hari-kathā as it is. He was the embodiment of the phrase guru-gata-prana . While narrating the pastime that occurred during the time of Param Gurudev's disappearance, Gurudev told, "When I was performing parikramā in Aniyor near Govinda Kunda, before entering Jatipura (a small village on the parikramā marg ) I met a small boy. He told me to stop parikramā . ‘You are very tired,’ he insisted. I told him I am not tired and that I have t

Today on the disappearance day festival of Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja, we are directly getting his blessings;  his mercy magnifies so much that it becomes  thousands  of times more beneficial participating in this tithi than in any other. Vaiṣṇavas are kṛpā-sindhu bhyaeva ca ; kṛpā-sindu means ocean of mercy. This ocean is full of water, and we can continuously withdraw as much water as possible and it is inexhaustible. Vaisnavas remain magnanimous, always ready to grace the devotees. The character and qualities of a vaiṣṇava are always great, greater, and greatest. The first quality we can find in the life and precepts of Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja is his example of how to render perfect devotional service to his spiritual master as linked with devotional service to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Vaiṣṇavas come to the world for the benefit of others; as incense burns itself out but distributes fragrance, Vaiṣṇavas do hard work and want to give us the


Today is the viraha-tithi of our Most Worshipable Guru Mahārāj. Guru Mahārāj used to say if Gurudev enacts the pastimes of disappearance it is to enhance the separation grief of his disciples.  This applies to only his real disciples.  We never thought or imagined that we will have to live without his darśan .  In his presence, we never felt when it was day or when night, how the days, fortnights, months, or years passed in the past thirty-five years.  Though I could not even externally take real association of Guru Mahārāj, his association was such that just after returning home from attending one program with him I would plan for the next program, whether it be in Punjab, Orissa, Bengal, or Maharashtra.  Wherever Guru Mahārāj went, I cannot say I went, but Gurudev's mercy attracted and pulled me to him. Only by his mercy can a householder, materialist, wicked, greedy for name and fame, egoist like me understand and adorn Gurudev and his words in his heart?   Today I feel ashamed

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

This is a very auspicious day; a very sad day, and a very happy day when these great souls go back to the eternal service of Sri Sri Radhagovinda. All are crying, all are happy— it's mixed. I can only share these remembrances due to the mercy of your Srila Gurudev. By his mercy, I met my Gurudev [Srila Bhakti Vaibhav Puri Goswami Maharaj] and by his mercy, I could appreciate my Srila Gurudev. If I had not met your Gurudev, I would not be here and I would not be able to continue in this line. I met Srila Tirtha Maharaj in 1999. I was not a member of the temple, I was outside. I had only been just coming a few times for Sunday feast. I was working and reading Bhagavad Gita. I was searching for a temple and in Vienna, I met Srila Bhakti Sadhak Muni Maharaj. When I saw all the rules and regulations, I thought it was not possible for me to follow; I thought bhakti was not for me. Although the Bhagavad Gita philosophy captured my interest, I did not have the desire to follow it. One day

We cry for this material world, but not a single tear will appear in our eyes for the Lord. Yet our Guru Mahārāja exhibited extreme viraha (separation grief) from his most beloved Gurudev and manifested various stages of bhava , and the highest stage of prema vipralambha (love in separation). He gave us a glimpse of all those varieties of bhava , bhakti , and prema in the transcendental world. Although he is the eternal personal associate of the Lord, he practiced every limb of sādhana - bhakti to teach us all. As sādhana is meant for those in the conditioned state, what is the need of it for a perfected soul? But by staying amongst us and demonstrating the highest standard of sādhana-bhakti , he abided by all the rules and regulations perfectly in order to instruct us. He also exhibited the varieties of bhava which manifested spontaneously in his divine body during his kirtan pastimes which the fortunate amongst us have witnessed. I had heard from Śrī Amarendra Prabhu that

My śikṣā-guru , founder of Sree Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭh, Nityalīlā Praviṣṭa Om Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāj is glorious. The jewel of his eyes and his necklace (garland) around His neck are all non-different from Him. The great personality whose disappearance we honor in this excellent ceremony today, my śikṣā-guru , Tridaṇḍī Svāmī Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāj remains ever victorious.  Once we had gone along with Mahārāj on a preaching tour to Haldia. Śrīla Trivikram Mahārāj, Ācārya Mahārāj, Yati Mahārāj and Tridaṇḍī Mahārāj had accompanied him. That program was organized by local devotees who were very poor. We stayed in a two-story, mud house. The stairs were difficult to climb, but Mahārāj was quite happy living there.  When we were having prasād , we criticized it, saying  “This is not good, that is not good..." At that time, Mahārāj came down and chastised us. “This is a poor person’s house. They have organized this program by begging. You are getting ready-

When Śrīla Guru Mahārāja's final pastimes were manifest I was very fortunate to be there and got the sevā of bringing medicines, coordinating things, etc.  Eight days before he entered into mahā-samādhi things were getting more and more critical and many devotees had gathered in the Kolkata Maṭh. I got a very strong feeling that we must do kīrtan , and so did some devotees like Rasbihari Prabhu and our Gaurasundar Prabhu from England, but somehow it was not appreciated, some thought it would disturb Guru Mahārāj. So we just sat a little bit to the back of the balcony, not too close to Guru Mahārāj, and started maṅgalācaraṇa prayers there and started the kīrtan on a low volume, and gradually more and more devotees joined and the kīrtan slowly grew.  Once the kīrtan started it never stopped and it went on for eight days, day and night. Śrīla Bhakti Niketan Turyāśramī Mahārāj, who is one of the senior-most god-brothers of Guru Mahārāj also consented.  Devotees who witnessed the

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam ( Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , 11.3.21) "Any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of a bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters." Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that bonded souls can exhibit submission unto the lotus feet of guru-vaiṣṇava until a certain extent, but not fully. If there is any breakage of self-interest, they can break the relationship with Gurudev immediately. That is the kind of inclination bonded souls are usually showing unto the lotus feet of guru-vaiṣṇava . We can remain complete