Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

Guru Mahārāja first visited Ukraine in 1999. In 2000 I took harināma. This happened during his last visit in 2001. I recall one incident when Guru Mahārāja allowed us to be present at another harināma initiation. It was at a cinema hall and we were with Guru Mahārāja on the stage. Some devotees came to Guru Mahārāja with a desire to take harināma initiation, but they did not speak English. At that time there was one Russian sannyāsī and devotees asked questions through him, but he didn't translate their request to Gurudeva. He replied to them saying, "Oh, you please come next year. We do not know each other. I do not know you. How many years have been practicing? What you are doing? So come next year." The devotees left that place and then Guru Mahārāja asked him what the devotees were asking. He started to explain to Guru Mahārāja that they say they would like to take harināma from you, but I told them, you just came, we do not know who you are, just go practice and plea...

Once Gurudeva asked me, "When you go to offices for appointments, do you carry your daṇḍa ?" I told him, "Guru Mahārāja, I do not want to disrespect the daṇḍa . I do not know whether they will honor my daṇḍa or not and if I carry it simply without any reason they may disrespect it."  Guru Mahārāja said, "I never went anywhere without taking my daṇḍa . That is his firm faith. If we are to remember this, that in itself is a great thing. Without daṇḍa Gurudeva did not even go to court; he took his daṇḍa there, too.  He explained to astonished listeners that " Daṇḍa is my Gurudeva and I shall go with my Gurudev everywhere." Such was his sublime thinking. We cannot even imagine such a thing like Gurujī carrying his daṇḍa while standing in the bus while traveling. By serving the daṇḍa so much, Gurujī's hand had stiffened and he had to strain so much to straighten it during his sickness pastimes. He had never touched his daṇḍa to the floor anytime...

When I was a young boy at the age of thirteen or fourteen, I used to have a dream. In India I was given astrological advice by a Paṇḍitjī that explained that I must go to a Śiva temple every day in the morning to offer water to the Śiva-liṅga. I used to dream that somebody took me to the top of a hill and I screamed while they pushed me off but somebody was underneath and he caught me. That dream had been continuing for a long time. When I came to England, I told my wife that we have to build one Śiva temple somewhere and she agreed. But it never happened until I met Guru Mahārāja in Delhi. One day he suggested that we go with him to Assam. At Guru Mahārāja’s appearance place in Goalpara, the janmasthāna temple was still being built. We met Mr. Lumba there and he explained that one of the devotees from Jammu is putting a lot of money into building a temple and he would like to ask somebody else to donate for that.  He asked me to come with him so he could show me where the temple ...

During the years that my spiritual master Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja was the president of the World Vaiṣṇava Association (1999-2017), he often emphasized harmonious cooperation among all vaiṣṇavas from all different saṅgas . I cannot imagine how pleased he must be that this meeting was organized.  I know it is Guru Mahārāja's arrangement to give me some time to glorify him, just to encourage me, to keep me connected, and to remind me of his glories. Over the last two days as I prepared for this, I probably thought much more about the pastimes than before. I will repeat or relate some of the teachings I received from Gurudev and some of the memories that I have just for my own purification. It is more like a child trying to learn how to talk and to walk when I speak and I hope Śrīla Gurudeva is pleased. During my recollection over the past few days, what really touched me or impressed me about Guru Mahārāja was how effulgent and radiant he was. I was often thinki...

Guru Mahārāja's life is most wonderful. Anaṅga Prabhu, who is now Bhikshu Mahārāja, had first joined Śrī Caitanya Maṭha and then came to Sree Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha. He was with Guru Mahārāja in Śrī Jagannatha Puri for recovering the birthplace of Śrīla Prabhupāda.  At that time, there were some 30-40 tenants who had been residing there for some 50 long years. Except for one room, the whole of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's house was occupied by these tenants. The tenants were so very terrifying and so daring they were ready to even kill someone who would oppose them. They would even carry knives in their hands, ready to attack anytime. Anaṅga Prabhu used to say that during the night, those tenants would pelt stones on the closed door towage them from sleep.  So, Ananga Prabhu told Śrī Kṛṣṇa Keśava Prabhu (who is Prabhupāda's disciple) that I have not come to the maṭha to die, I have come here to perform bhajana.  Then Śrī Keśava Prabhu convincingly explained this to him:...

I recall one incident that happened at Sree Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha in Kolkata when I was in Śrīla Gurudeva's room. At that time, I revealed my struggle to Śrīla Gurudeva regarding japa : “Whenever I chant japa , my mind is going more or less everywhere, it seems impossible for me to keep it on the Holy Name." I saw that Guru Mahārāja was really intensely looking at me, but not with scary eyes which can see whatever I am thinking, but with eyes full of compassion. And then he was so concerned about this and just told me, "Do not fear." That is what I was really hearing and feeling. And he gave the example of a child. When a child starts to walk he always falls and it seems almost impossible for him to walk. It just seems like something that is unreachable, so far away. But we all know that any child, if he keeps trying, keeps trying, he will walk one day. So he told me, "Do not fear. If you keep trying and always bring your mind back under the Holy Name, then you...

I am very insignificant, the lowest of mankind, and do not know much about Gurudeva, but I will repeat whatever I have heard from the lotus lips of vaiṣṇavas. How can we develop transcendental love for the lotus feet of Gurudeva? When we develop devotion for the lotus feet of Gurudeva, we attain auspiciousness. Until devotion arises unto the lotus feet of Gurudeva, we cannot attain auspiciousness. When we attain devotion, we reach the Lord's eternal abode, the transcendental abode.  Māyādevī expands her illusory powers and obstructs our proper darśana of Gurudeva, then what we see is with material vision. We see that Gurudeva has become old, Gurudeva is sick, diseased, angry, etc, but it is not so. It is Māyādevī's work that she does not allow us proper darśana of Gurudeva. Why does she do this? Because we will leave her world and go to Vaikuntha-loka, the transcendental world, so she works to hinder that.  Secondly, we think we will see Gurudeva, we try to measure and assess ...