Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

When Gurujī narrates the pastimes of Supreme Lord during  hari-kathā , he brings that scene before our eyes. When we heard Gurujī speak on the topic of Dhruva-charitra, he repeatedly called out "Where is Padma Palash Lochan Hari?" We would feel as though Dhruva is there with us in person calling out to Supreme Lord. When narrating Kurukṣetra’s fire sacrifice, he calls, "Gopāl! Gopāl! it is as though mother Yaśodā herself is calling. His hari-kathā overflows with newer and newer sweetnesses and divine mellows. In his hari-kathā , Supreme Lord is personally present there; it bestows extreme bliss. One feels repentance just by listening to his hari-kathā ; it cleansed all dirt within the heart. The mind feels encouraged and renewed in enthusiasm to pursue the devotional path, causing hard hearts to soften and melt. We have never heard Gurudeva ask why so many programs of hari-kathā were arranged for him in a day. In Dehradun on  Uttāna Ekādaśī-tithi , Gurujī even told, “I...

The most difficult part of Vraja-mandala parikramā is Kāmyavana where on every step, sharp thorns would prick us. Gurujī was least disturbed whereas I, walking by his side, was in a very bad condition. Seeing my state, he told, "We do not want to take the holy dust of Vraja, but Lord is very merciful. Through the use of thorns, He is sending the holy dust of Vraj into our bloodstream." This type of vision is an indication of his transcendental quality of tolerance. In any difficult situation, he experiences the Lord’s compassion, which a conditioned soul of this world can never think of. — Śrī Kṛṣṇananda Das  (Bhatinda) Translated from Sri Krishna Chaitanya Sandesh , July-Oct, 1997 (Year 17, Issue No.4, Page 27-39) 

The effect of Srila Gurudev’s sound is unlike anything I have ever heard. Even today when a recording of the same mangalacharan prayers is being played, there is a deep kind of seriousness that is conveyed. That sound is out of the world.   In fact, I remember there was one senior sanyassi, a disciple of Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Goswami Maharaj told us about when Srila Gurudev was going on Kshetra mandal and Vraj mandal parikrama. He said when our Guru Maharaj describes anything in Vraj mandal—about the place, about the pastimes; it appears as if he is giving live commentary.   He is seeing it and he is telling us what he sees in reality. I have practically experienced the difference in the speech of Gurudev and how it affects me—completely different than when I hear from others.   If I am calling out the holy names or repeating pastimes that we have heard, or singing mangalacharan, it is not at all the same feeling than when we hear from Guru Maharaj. ...

In 2005, I had been very sick for many months and was doing some Ayurvedic treatment with a doctor in Udupi. There were two didis from another sangha there. Every morning we had to wait together for an hour or two outside the treatment room for our turn. One of those didis was a secretary of an ISKCON guru and she read Srimad Bhagavatam every morning. I have to admit my spirits were so low at that time, I was just sitting there reading the newspaper. I was chanting but I couldn't get myself to open a book. I was depressed and in a ton of physical and mental pain. Somehow I finished my rounds but other than that, I couldn't do much. So this had been going on for two or three weeks. This didi read the Bhagavatam, I read the newspaper. Some newspapers in India print a spiritually related column called the S peaking Tree.  I read that even though it was usually Mayavad philosophy. One day I opened it and I was astounded. I cried out, "My Gurudev is in the newspaper! My Gurudev...

This is a very old incident. I was with Guruji at a preaching engagement in Saharanpur. One day, Guru Maharaj unexpectedly entered my room and said, “What are you doing sitting idle here? We have taken some land in Vrindavan. Shouldn’t there be some construction there?” “What should I do?” I asked. “Go out and collect some donations for that purpose. I have heard that there is a rich lady living nearby who is very charitable. Go and meet her,” said Guruji. I was not a person who would wander about. Hence I did not know who lived where. “Who is the lady that Guru Maharaj mentioned and where does she live?” Then I remembered that Vijay Krishna Prabhu, who was with us, was interested in moving about. He would surely have found out some information about the city. I approached Vijay Krishna Prabhu and conveyed to him what Guruji had told me earlier. I asked if he knew the lady that Guruji was talking about. “Yes. Yes. Why not? I know her house also,” Vijay Krishna Prabhu said. ...

When I was serving in the m aṭha , I worked outside of his room on my laptop sometimes. Gurudeva saw me and asked, "Do you know typing? Can you type a letter for me? I told him I could do it, and he dictated what he wanted me to write. It was regarding some land next to the Dehradun maṭha that belonged to one of our god sisters. Gurudeva wanted to purchase that land and our god-sister also wanted to sell it. When he was dictating, I was shocked to discover that he not only knows not only spiritual matters, but also all about legal matters, financial matters, and every other aspect of business— he was a spiritual CEO! Each and every instruction he gave was not only spiritually but materially perfect. He was explaining how the land could be acquired, how to give the funds to that Mātājī—everything. Once I was translating Dasavatar. The Hindi translation is slightly tough and a little cryptic. I translated it with a bit of a whim. Gurudeva told, "You have to understand t...