Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

During Śrī Navadvīp parikramā at prasād time, devotees would line up. They were offered big leaf plates and were served salt, a green chili, and a slice of lemon. They served steaming hot rice ( anna ) piled up like a mountain. The dal was thin and watery. When the prasād was served we chanted mahā-prasāde govinde . After additional prayers concluded, everyone started honoring prasād .   As I observed hungry persons getting busy eating mouthfuls, I felt still, just sitting and thinking. I had not started when I saw someone standing near my plate and I lifted my head to see it was Guru Mahārāj. He had come to see me.  He understood that this was my first experience of prasād in Māyāpur. As he smiled, he told me, "This is prasād offered to Śrī Mahāprabhu." The moment I heard these words I started honoring prasād mouthfuls quickly. My taste of food changed there and prasād then was so simple, humble, only two-three items, that is all. On special feasts, the only addi...

To be frank, in 1986 when I went for Māyāpur parikramā , I was not ready for anything; I was not eligible to understand anything. For me, those things were out of this world. I had a language barrier as I did not understand Bangla. Except for Gurudev, all others were speaking Bangla. Besides Gurudev, I had no one to speak to so I would follow Gurudev and listen to his explanations. He would walk us through the middle of a waterlogged paddy field on a two feet dry track. While Gurudev was moving ahead, I was holding an umbrella for Gurudev and also sometimes holding Guru Mahārāj himself because of the difficulty to hold one’s balance on that small track with water on both sides.  Sometimes I would have to enter the water to give Gurudev the required space to walk and hold the big umbrella over him at the same time. The experience was altogether out of this world. At that time, Guru Mahārāj would sit and tell us the name of the place (Jagai-Madai ghat , Mahāprabhur ghat , Barakona gh...

I remember how Śrīla Gurudev bestowed his affection to make this soul who had been caught in the quicksand of the material world a servant of the servant of Śrī Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇavas. After taking shelter of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj’s lotus feet, I got the good fortune of his association for the first time during Śrīdhām Māyāpur.  Throughout the five days of parikramā, I observed Śrīla Gurudev in the morning at the samādhi mandir of Param Gurudev Om Vishnupad 108 Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Madhava Goswami Mahārāj and maṅgalārati after that.  He was walking barefoot in parikramā the whole day, crying out in ecstatic kīrtans while dancing and then singing glories at various pastime places. His presence could always be seen for the evening kathā even when devotees were not turning up. He was doing all these devotional activities uninterruptedly, without taking rest for the body. I have not seen such a degree of patience and such conduct in anyone else to date.  Most of the time,...

Like a real ācārya , Śrīla Gurudev walked barefoot throughout the dhām-parikramā in any condition, whether it be flooding, mud, or dust. He would say that by the association of devotees, devotion will come. He spoke of himself as ordinary. He walked from village to village and sat down in poor people's huts and would take prasādam there; he would not even use a chair.  He did not go to preach or make devotees; he went everywhere so that he may become a devotee. With that thought, he went. Gurudeva is a pilgrimage place, the dhām himself.   bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṁ vibho tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā ( Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , 1.3.10) [My Lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage.] Tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni — he is an embodiment of tīrtha . All pilgrimage places are in his heart and he converts all th...

During Māyāpur parikramā , Gurudev used to lead us barefoot. When Gurudev saw me, he was very happy and offered his prasādī garland to me. Śānti Prabhu (who is Bhajanonmukh Mahārāj now) was the personal sevāk of Guru Mahārāj then. He used to give me some services in Guru Mahārāj's room such as cleaning, etc. Seeing me do the service sincerely, Śānti Prabhu was pleased and thought if I give him some service he will do it nicely. So he gave me small services like carrying an umbrella, water bottle, or a bag for Guru Mahārāj while going on parikramā .  On the final day in the parikramā of Rudradvīpa, Śānti Prabhu fell ill and he could not go with Guru Mahārāj on parikramā . He gave me some money and told me to keep it with me until Guru Mahārāj asked for it in order to offer praṇāmi at certain places. So I kept the money in my pocket.  In Rudradvīpa, Guru Mahārāj spoke the glories of the place and after kirtan and over, Gurudev asked me if Śānti Prabhu gave you some praṇāmi . I...

When I went with my mother for Gurudev's darśan for the first time, my mother told Gurudev that I wished to take initiation from him and that I am already wearing tilak and kāntikar . Then Gurudev told the following verse: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā  -Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi, 7.76 [In kaliyuga there is no other way no other way no other way, except chanting of the Holy Name.] Whenever I came to meet Guru Mahārāj I saw many devotees enthusiastically coming and wanting to meet Guru Mahārāj, they had a great desire to see him and wait for when the door of his bhajan k uṭir   would open. After darśan , all of us would feel very happy. So I was very curious to know what is so special about him and later when I came in his presence he attracted me so much. I started to realize what charm and attraction he has, then I also developed the desire to take hāriṇam and dīkṣā from him. Mayapur parikramā is a very happ...

I got maximum mercy and good association from my śikṣā-guru Ramanath-ji, father of Shyam Sundar-ji. There were many opportunities to accompany him to the railway station to welcome and later see Guruji and his prachar party off. As we reached the station, I would run towards the platform and Guruji would smile seeing me. Holding my shoulder he would get down the steps. While going to the maṭh Guruji would converse with me about prachar programs, hāriṇam initiations at previous places he visited, and enquire about Delhi weather. That time it was a small maṭh and Guruji's room was downstairs. Seeing him often taking his pocket watch out to see the time, I told him I would get him a wristwatch. But he denied my offer, saying sannyasis do not wear a watch or good clothes, what will people think if they see us like this? Such was his conduct. I went for Mayapur parikramā in 1991 for the first time. I hadn't had my initiation yet. Guruji was pleased to see me and arranged for my s...

Thanks to those who uploaded these including: Prahlad Das, Radhika Priya Dasi, Janaki Nath Das, Ananga Manjari dasi, Dauji Das