Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

Śrīla Gurudeva always liked to be very prepared and often planned his lectures ahead of time and requested the name of the institution we are going to. He and I went to some strange places in Phoenix (Arizona, USA.) We went wherever we could since not so many devotees lived there.  Once we went to some place called "Center for Expanding Consciousness." As he spoke on some verse of Bhagavad-gītā, one lady held up her hand while he was giving commentary.  He stopped and said, "Yes, you have a question?"  She replied, "Well, I have Bhagavad-gītā. I heard this verse many times, but it doesn't seem to me what you are telling me it means. What you are saying seems to have a different meaning." He just said, "I am so happy that you are reading Bhagavad-gītā," and smiled. She sat down. There was no conflict, no room for it at all. People have different interpretations, but there is no argument. He has no sense of conflict, free of animosity, condesce...

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?...

Earlier, we used to have the maṭha in a rented house at Rashbihari Avenue, Kolkata. Our Guru Mahārāja [Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja] used to call Kṛṣṇa Ballabha's name always and as soon as he was called, he would leave aside every other activity, including eating, to respond to him. In this way, he would serve Guru Mahārāja . I still remember an incident that took place in front of my eyes. One day, Mahārāja needed to go to a government office at 11am. Pūjyapāda Keśava Prabhu and asked him where he was going. He replied, "As per the order of Guru Mahārāja, I am going to an office for some work."  "It is nearly 11 AM, time for the bhoga to be offered to Ṭhākurajī, You should take prasādam before leaving," they said. “How can I take prasādam before all of you take? Also, the time I need to be there in the office as per the order of Gurudeva is approaching," Kṛṣṇa Ballabha Brahmacārī said. Despite his argument, they insisted that he s...

Once our Puri maṭha had won a court case. Paramā-gurudeva and Gurujī were in Guwahati. Paramā-gurudeva told Gurujī to go immediately to Jagannātha Puri. He bought the ticket and was ready to leave right away. He had a water bottle whose handle was broken. Gurujī took a rope made of coir, tied it to the bottle, and hung it on his shoulder. When Paramā-gurudeva saw this, he exclaimed, “You are traveling by air like this?”  He is such a renounced person that he never paid heed to the mundane world. Among all the qualities of Gurujī, his biggest quality is surrender towards Paramā-gurudeva. Our Gurujī was made Ācārya not only because he was educated, but because he is totally surrendered. Our Gurujī never repeated anything other than his Gurudeva’s words. He always said, “I heard from my Gurudeva like this” or “My Gurudeva said such and such words.” He is always singing his glories.  He said, “My Gurudeva has instructed me to only repeat the words of Guru, Vaiṣṇava, and Scriptures...

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)                ...

I used to play daily in the veranda. One day I hit a stone and fell down. I could not breathe properly. There were many old women and grandmothers sitting a little far away. I was signaling them, but nobody came. All of the sudden, my mother came there somehow. She came towards me, but suddenly took a turn in another direction because she did not see me. Later she saw me and came to me running. Then she rubbed me and I could breathe properly after that. I understood that even if mother is far from the child she knows about him. Those who were close by did not come to me. I have seen this practically. That relation (mother-child) is very different. She was some where else, but somehow she knew that her child is in trouble. She came running and none of those who were sitting there came. There is a gulf of difference. -- Our grandfather was our enemy (laughing). Whenever we used to play he used to come with a cane in his hand to beat us. One day all of my friends ran away but I could no...