Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

Śrīla Gurudev's father gave him a kurta to wear to college. He wore it even though it was so long that the sleeves extended past his arms. When his friends saw this, they laughed at him and asked, "Are you wearing your father's kurta ?" The only thing he replied was "My father gave me this with a lot of love." During his childhood in Goalpara (his appearance place), the Śiva mandira near his home was his favorite place of worship and meditation. After he completed his MA in Philosophy at Kolkata University, he was offered a job as a District Magistrate. In one of his visits to maṭha to hear Param Gurudeva's hari-kathā , one maṭhavāsī told him "You will soon become a District Magistrate; will you get time for hearing hari-kathā ? You will only hear the public going on with their civic complaints." Śrīla Gurudev felt the truth in these words and refused to join this duty. When Param Gurudeva came to their place, he quietly followed him to the...

tat te anukampam susamikshamana : most noble, peaceful— even those who act like enemies to him,  to them he is very friendly. Under any circumstance, Srila Gurudeva is always seen peaceful and smiling, which is an exemplary character of a pure devotee as explained in the verse,  tat te anukampam susamikshamana (Brahma Stava 10.14.8) Once there was a delay of 5-6 hours when Gurudeva and the prachar party reached Bhatinda from New Delhi, reaching around 1 o'clock in the middle of the night instead of the scheduled time 6 in the evening. Many of the devotees who arrived with Gurudeva were so tired that when they got rooms, they simply retired without even waiting to have prasadam. But when Gurudeva was to be offered food, Gurudeva's sevak found to his surprise that all the edibles prepared by devotees with love were all Punjabi foods— fried things like puris and spicy curries, and not a single item other than plain rice suitable for Gurudeva's offering. There was no ...

After our Guru Mahārāja disappeared, Śrīla Tirtha Mahārāja served the maṭha untiringly and did not let the mission deviate an iota from pure devotional principles.  We had seen Mahārāja doing kirtan at a stretch for 2 to 3 hours while performing nagara- saṅkīrtana . Whenever we traveled even for a short distance, we needed a car, but Tirtha Mahārāja would go barefoot.  On the way to Narasiṃhapali, just after the area inhabited by the Muslims, there lies a banyan tree where it is nearly impossible to place one's  foot on the street due to the burning heat. Others got blisters under their feet, but Mahārāja came there barefoot.  We started wondering where his kharam (wooden slippers) were. I asked Mahārāja to wear his pair of kharam , but he would not.  One would want to go by car in that scorching heat, but Śrīla Tirtha Mahārāja arrived there barefoot. In such a state, he was performing such an amazing  kīrt...

When I first came to the maṭha , the love that I got from Śrīla Gurudeva, in the beginning, was unique because I was such a small child when I came here; I am not sure if anyone else had an experience like mine.   When I came to get harināma from Gurudeva, he asked, "What is your name? And I told him.  Then he asked, "What is your father's name? And, again,  I told his name.  Then he said, "Oh, you are the son of that devotee? Do you want to come to Delhi with me?"  Before Guru Mahārāja had finished giving me harināma , as he was extending the mālā to me, he was telling me to come to Delhi with him. I thought I will miss my home and so I felt like weeping. I thought in my mind, Guru Mahārāja, it is very difficult for me to stay away from my family, so I will stay in Agartala maṭha and serve from there, I will not go anywhere else.  The next morning Guru Mahārāja saw me. I paid obeisances to Guru Mahārāja, and then he asked me, "Is your stomach okay?...

After I joined math, I got a letter from my father. I asked Guru Maharaj if I can reply. He said, "No. If you reply, you will go home. You will not be able to stay in Math." My heart was floundering. After a few days, I got another letter. My mind got disturbed. I went to Guru Maharaj. He said, "I told you already if you reply, you will not be able to stay here." Some days later, about 32 - 34 persons from my village came there to Hazra Road (Kolkata) in search of me. I was sent by Guru Maharaj to another place. I did not understand the reason at the time. They searched for me, there but did not find me. They made all the arrangements for my marriage. They wanted to take me and get married. Guruji asked one devotee to take me to the station. I was surprised why Guruji wanted me to go all of a sudden. If those persons had seen me, it would have been difficult for me. —Gurudeva's words translated by Prahlad Das (2010)                ...

After the disappearance of Most Revered Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Tīrtha Mahārāja had tolerated immense suffering. Ignoring so many favorable and unfavorable circumstances, he kept on serving his Gurudeva. He is one of the bright stars of Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Maṭha.  Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja is a shining example of how one should serve guru, how one should dedicate oneself to the services of the maṭha, and how one should serve Guru-Vaiṣṇava-Bhagavan amidst all difficulties, adversities, reproaches, and insults of the world. The tolerance he has exhibited is extremely rare to be seen in human beings.  After the disappearance of my Gurudeva, I often would go to the maṭha of my Sannyās-guru, Nityālīlā Praviṣṭa Om Viṣṇupada Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Kumuda Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. I have seen many times the way in which he offers his obeisances to Śrīla Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. He would sit on the floor in front of him and never on an elevated seat. We s...