Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

I first met Śrīla Tīrtha Mahārāja during the Navadvīpa-parikramā in 1996, when I came to the dhāma for the first and only time in my life with a one-way ticket, secretly hoping in my heart to stay there forever. Unfortunately, that desire was not destined to be fulfilled. But by the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrīla Mahārāja himself, I, along with the other Vaiṣṇavas who were present on the parikramā through Koladvīpa, was granted the chance to touch, for a few unforgettable moments, the Transcendental Abode of Bhagavān Gaura and to feel it within my heart. This happened when Śrīla Bhakti Vallabha Tīrtha Mahārāja began to sing “akrodha paramānanda nityānanda rāy” and then began chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra. Never in my life (as a fallen and insignificant soul) have I experienced such happiness. All the bhaktas at that time seemed to go mad in ecstasy. Outwardly, our bodies were in earthly Navadvīpa, but we — the jīvas — were in another realm altogether, where spiritual bliss w...

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...

Most merciful Gurudeva attracted me to his transcendental personality through his books. The first of his books that I read was Harikathā and Vaiṣṇava Aparādha, and such was the impact of his words on my heart that I decided to take shelter of his lotus feet without even personally meeting him. Later I came to know that Guru Mahārāja had withdrawn from the external world and was no longer communicating through spoken words. I only had the first darśana of Gurudeva at his bhajana kuṭīra in Kolkata during my harināma initiation. Even though I never had personal communication with Gurudeva, he continues to instruct me through his vāṇī . After his departure from the manifest pastimes, I could sustain and relish my relationship with Gurudeva through connection with his vāṇī . So I always nurture my relationship with Gurudeva through his vāṇī . I always had the impetus to distribute his books primarily as a means to water the seed of bhakti sown by Gurudeva in my heart. We have many of...

I bow down to Śrīla Guru Mahārāja’s lotus feet and I am so happy that I can be with all of you today and I bow down to every one of you here. I have a wish in my heart because sādhu-sanga is such an amazing thing, and is such a nice thing to reunite and see each other also. It is always so nice to speak about Gurudeva. I could do this only, all my life, speaking about Guru Mahārāja. My heart is always thumping when I think about him and talk about him. I was thinking what shall I speak today? But I have prepared nothing because I just wanted to tell in the moment now to see what to speak about. There are different things; one thing is we have a little group where we unite once a week and we speak about Guru Mahārāja and everybody remembers about the pastimes of Guru Mahārāja, what teachings each person had, or what one saw, or what experience one had, and it is so amazing because we do this since many months now and it is never boring and it is always beautiful even if we hear it agai...

I am sincerely grateful and honored for this great blessing to be a part of this historic, auspicious occasion where we have come together to celebrate the life and teachings of His Divine Grace Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Mahārāja and to offer our gratitude for the mercy that we all received from him.  Within this material existence, the physical life that a person is given is likened to a spark. Reality is eternity. Any amount of life we have in this age of Kali is just a small fraction. Yet, in this human life, we have the rarest of all fortunes— durlabha mānava-janma labhiyā saḿsāre.  We have the opportunity to realize the eternity of our soul and our eternal relationship with Śrī Śrī Rādhā Govinda Deva in the spiritual world of Goloka. Of all rare things of this human life, there is nothing rarer than to be in the association of those Vaiṣṇavas who lived to love Kṛṣṇa and lived to share their love with others.  The physical presence ( vapu ) of such a great soul is to li...

I was asked to speak today although I actually have no qualifications and I am very fallen and immersed in māyā . For my own purification, by the mercy of Mahārāja, Param Pūjyapāda Bhakti Ballabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja, I remember the glories of this Uttama Mahābhāgavata. I first met Mahārāja in 1977 when I was in Paharganj [Delhi]. I was living in Vṛndāvana for many years and when I was going to Paharganj (even though I didn't even know who he was) he had this power that  could attract you to go to him. I did not know where the maṭha was or anything but I was able to go and had my first association with him. We have learned that gu means darkness; everything we can see with these eyes is actually māyā . This darkness is gu and ru is light. He who can give you that light, remove that māyā (ignorance) and give you that transcendental light and vision is guru . So guru is not always coming in our lives with the formalities of giving dīkṣā or externally teaching us Śāstra, but...

I offer my humble obeisances at the divine lotus feet of my Guru Mahārāja, Nityalīlā Om Viṣṇupada Aṣṭottara Śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Pramoda Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāja and equal daṇḍavat-praṇams to my śikṣā Gurudevas, Nityalīlā Om Viṣṇupada Aṣṭottara Śata Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Nityalīlā Om Viṣṇupada Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja.  My millions and millions of daṇḍavat-praṇams to the most revered embodiment of simplicity and humility whose hundredth appearance (centennial celebration) is being observed this year beginning from Rāmanavamī by devotees all over the world. They worship Pūjyapāda Nityalīlā Praviṣṭa Śrīla Om Viṣṇupada Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja by remembering his contributions, his pastimes, and his great interactions with devotees worldwide. I pay my humble obeisances at his divine lotus feet, and to Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda and all his prominent disciples, and Śrī Saccidānanda Gaurahari and all ...