Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

All Glories to Shri Sita-Rama! All Glories to Shri Guru and Gauranga! A humble offering to Most Beloved and Most Revered HDG Shrila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaja on his holy advent day celebration 2025. I had the most fortunate and undeserved opportunity to meet HDG Shrila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaja in 1980 at the Kolkata branch of Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math. It was my good luck that he happened to be staying there for two weeks, as he was usually engaged with preaching tours that took him all over India. I was introduced by a vanachari devotee, Sudama prabhu, who was residing at the math at that time. I had come to be at the temple at the behest of Sudama after a chance meeting with him on the streets of Kolkata. I can distinctly remember entering the room where Shrila Tirtha Maharaja had just finished honouring prasadam. A number of senior sannyasis were also there, which made me very nervous. However, this was soon dispelled by the charming smile and soothing vo...

Dear Shrila Guru Maharaj,  I pay my obeisances at Your Lotus Feet again and again. Today is the Navami of the waning moon of that very month in which You appear. It will happen when the Moon is on the 9th day of waxing. Feeling the urge to concentrate on this approaching event, I read Your hari-katha. While describing the Pastimes of Shri Krishna in Shrimad Bhagavatam, Shukadeva Gosvami says that one should never think of Krishna as an ordinary boy going on a picnic. In this case, one may imagine that anyone can also easily join Him. Do not forget that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, says Shukadeva Gosvami.  Why is He the Supreme Personality of Godhead? He is everywhere, All-pervading, Omnipotent, He is far, far beyond this world—transcendental. His Abode, His Friends are also transcendental.  Dear Srila Gurudeva, on the eve of your Vyasa Puja, I request you: Please forgive me for not really understanding that you are an extraordinary person, not of this world, ...

 Shri Shri Guru Gaurangau jayatah! All glories to Shrila Bhakti Pramod Puri Goswami! All glories to Shrila Bhakti Vallabha Tirtha Goswami! I offer innumerable humble obeisances at the lotus feet of the all-respected Shrila Tirtha Goswami Maharaja, who is a complete manifestation of Shri Guru tattva and a beloved associate of the Supreme Lord. May he forgive my numerous offenses committed out of ignorance or laziness. May he accept the sincere feeling of deep attraction that I have for him. He was very kind and gentle to us, Russian devotees, when we lived and traveled with him. He was strict and emphatic when he noticed inappropriate behavior of his followers or denounced Mayavada teachings. He showed unparalleled patience, explaining to us the subtleties of Vaishnava siddhanta and sad-acar.  In his dealings with senior Vaishnavas of our Guru-varga, we saw his respectfulness and meekness. He never complained of physical discomfort and humbly accepted the circumstances around h...

Hare Krishna!  On the occasion of Srila Gurudev's 101st Appearance Anniversary, I would like to say that by the grace of Gurudev, we can become simple-hearted, frank-hearted, we can become sincere, we can come to say from the heart and act from the heart in the service of Krishna, by Gurudev's grace. And though Gurudev is sometimes playing the pastime of illness, but that is only his lila. Actually, when we come to this sincerity by His grace, then Gurudev will reveal to us that He is not ordinary person, He is divine person, personal associate of Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, and it is by His grace that we can come to Golok, to the service of Radha-Krishna in Golok Vrindavan. It is by the grace of Gurudev. Hare Krishna. Jay Gurudev! —Madan Gopal Das, Slovenia

On June 19, 1999, on Deribasovskaya Street in Odesa, an encounter took place that changed my entire life! I met a procession of unusual people who were singing incomprehensible songs and looked very special. An irresistible force drew me toward them—I joined in, began to dance, sing incomprehensible words, and, most importantly, felt an overwhelming desire for everyone around to witness it. Deep in my heart, I was crying out to the world: "Look, I am with them!" When the Nagar Sankirtan came to an end and everyone bowed down, I saw HIM—my eternal Gurudev, who, by his causeless Mercy, comes into this world to save me and my spiritual brothers and sisters, with only one purpose—to grant us eternal well-being and guide us back to our True Home. From 2000 to 2004, by indescribable fortune and the Mercy of Gurudev, I was granted the opportunity to be near His Lotus Feet, following him on his travels across India, visiting our Maths and disciples who organized both grand and small ...

All Glory to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!  Hare Krishna! My humble obeisances to all devotees! I am deeply grateful to Srila Gurudev for accepting me as his disciple. When I first found out about Krishna Consciousness and Gurudev in 2013, I felt that this was my path, the very thing I had been searching for. At first, I had doubts—was he truly my spiritual master? I prayed for a sign. Then one night, Gurudev appeared to me in a dream and called me to follow him. It was difficult to take a leave from work, so I had to arrange a sick leave. In May 2014, I flew to Kolkata to receive Harinam. I knew that Gurudev was in the lila of illness and that I would not be able to speak with him personally, but that did not stop me. Arriving in India with a girl from another country, we both experienced a cultural shock. Reaching our Math with great difficulty, we spent a few days recovering. But having settled in a little, I realized that I had come home, I among my spiritual family. At first, I d...

 Dear Śrīla Gurudeva Bhakti Vallabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja, please accept my humble obeisances! Śrī Basu Rāmananda and his father, Śrī Satyarāja Khān, who were originally from the village of Kulīn-Grām, once asked Śrīman Mahāprabhu about the duties of a householder Vaiṣṇava. In response, Mahāprabhu stated that serving Kṛṣṇa, serving the Vaiṣṇavas, and continuously chanting the Holy Name are the sole duties of a householder Vaiṣṇava. Upon hearing this, Satyarāja inquired: "Service to Kṛṣṇa and chanting the Holy Names in saṅkīrtana are easy to understand, but if one does not know how to recognize a Vaiṣṇava, serving them will be very difficult. O Prabhu, who is a Vaiṣṇava? What are his primary and secondary qualities? It is my greatest desire to hear this from Your divine lips." In response to Satyarāja's question, the beloved king of devotees, Śrīman Mahāprabhu, described the qualities of Vaiṣṇavas over three years—starting with the neophyte (kaniṣṭha), then the intermed...

Dear Srila Gurudev, What would I say to You if I could be near You right now? The same thing I have always said: take me with You. I want to be in Your association forever, to listen to the nectarian, sweet hari-katha from Your Lotus Lips, and to serve You in all possible and impossible ways. I want You to be Happy! In my life, I have never met anyone closer and dearer to my soul. You are like a kind of magician; wherever Your gaze falls, whatever You touch—everything blossoms and becomes fragrant. You bring only unconditional Love, tenderness, and infinite kindness. My soul cannot forget this experience and searches for something similar everywhere. But in this world, there is nothing that can compare to Your presence. Only in kirtan, in the chanting of the Holy Names of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in the association of devotees, does my heart find peace. The moment I sincerely begin to chant—You come. I can feel it… There is no greater Gift than this—the Maha-mantra! This Gift was brou...

 Dear Guru Mahārāj, Please accept my humble obeisances to Your lotus feet. All Glories to the Day of Your Appearance! Your glory is incomprehensible— its radiance is limitless. It is like a precious gem, revealing countless facets of Your love, mercy, beauty, sincerity, humility, and sweetness. Even to touch this glory is possible only by Your causeless mercy. I am not worthy of even a drop of this mercy, yet You are causelessly compassionate to all living beings, even to someone as insignificant as myself. I am forever indebted to You, and this position is an inconceivable fortune for me. You always sang kīrtanas and spoke harikathā with the deepest devotion and love, from the depths of Your heart. These thunderous yet supremely sweet kīrtanas and harikathā eradicate anarthas from hearts and fill them with transcendental amṛta.  I keep the memory in my heart of the happiest moments of my life—18 days of Your darśanas in Goalpāra Dhām, the place of Your appearance, in July 201...

Dear devotees, please accept my humble obeisances. On the eve of the 101st Vyasa-puja of Srila Gurudeva, His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhakti Vallabha Tirtha Goswami Maharaj, I would like to offer pushpanjali to the lotus feet of my Gurudeva and write this humble offering-letter to him. Let me share a little about our meeting. It happened quite unexpectedly. I traveled to India because I had never been to this mysterious land. Before I left, my son asked me: Mom, who are you going to India with? I replied: With the Krishna devotees. But they chant “Hare Krishna!” I answered: Let them chant. I’ll take care of my own business. And so, I arrived in India — Delhi, Govardhan, Vrindavan, Kolkata, Navadvipa, and Mayapur. During the parikrama, I had a life-changing meeting — darshan with Srila Bhakti Vallabha Tirtha Maharaj. Later, while we were crossing the Ganga on our way to the math in Navadvipa where we were staying, I was suddenly overcome by powerful emotions. It lasted just a few seconds...

Dear Gurudeva, Every morning I speak with You. I look up to the sky and address You—it seems that you will surely hear me this way. From the bottom of my heart, I thank You for so mercifully accepting me into Your spiritual family 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 It has been 13 years since my initiation (08.03.2012),  yet I still can’t quite believe the reality of this magical story that happened to me. So many years I was led toward meeting You, dear Gurudeva. It all began back in 1979. My husband, our children (ages five and seven), and I were sent from the Orsk South Ural Machine-Building Plant to India, to the city of Ranchi. I was 29 years old at the time. I was an atheist, as was everyone in my family. One day, the company where my husband worked organized a two-day temple tour in Kolkata. Forty-two temples in two days—it was difficult to visit and even harder to remember them all. I remember feeling uncomfortable—I was wearing a short skirt. Apparently, in one of the temples in Kolkata, I offer...