Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

Our Guru Maharaj used to say that in Assam, in Bengal people are used to eat a lot of leafy vegetables. One day Guru Maharaj was eating one of these. One of his sisters told us that they asked him, "Eh, Khoka!" (Khoka is addressing a small child with love, a nickname.) "What are you eating?" Guru Maharaj did not know what it was called, but only knew that it was a leafy vegetable, so he told her, "I am eating grass."  So simple. Then everyone started laughing at him calling him 'cow cow..'  Actually he was a cow.  A cow is so sweet, so simple.  Guru Maharaj said, "I did not know what to say, I just kept quiet."  This shows his simplicity, even from childhood.   —Sri Bhakti Suhrid Paramadvati Maharaj transcribed from a recording taken on Vyasa puja, 2019 (Sri Dham Mayapur.) As told to Srila Gurudev's sevaks by those who knew him in childhood

Once in wintertime, Guru Maharaj's father gave him an overcoat.  He wore it and went to school. Without checking to see how it looked, he just wore it and went.  When he entered the school everyone started laughing at him, but he couldn't understand why. Actually, the coat he was wearing went down to his knees because it was such a big coat that had belonged to some elder gentleman of the family.  The hands of the coat were drooping, and it was so long. Yet,  Guru Maharaj did not find any fault with that coat.  Everybody was teasing him, asking,  "Eh! What are you wearing?  What is this?"  He simply said, "My father gave me." See how he respected whatever had father had given or anything that anyone has given. He thought, my father has given this, so how can I see any defect in it?  It is out of love that he has given, even though others are laughing.  So simple he was. He had no hostility to anyone right from his childhood. ...

During Summer vacations, all the children in Guru Maharaj 's family came together. They had a big family.  His father had 3 or 4 brothers and their children played there too, with their own family including 8 or 10 children. With all of them together it was like a school in the house, about 30-35 kids representing all different age groups.  With so many children together, it usually means they are going to make some nuisance, some mischief.  During Summer vacations when all children are at home, it is very difficult for parents to control the children. One day after lunch, Guru Maharaj's paternal uncle called all the children to come and sit before him. Then he said, "You should all count backward one by one, starting from a hundred and back to one. After you finish counting you can go to play." Near Guru Maharaj's house there is a pond.  The elders feared that the children will fall in the pond and may hurt themselves.  So this plan was devised in order to...

Tamal Prabhu told us an incidence that illustrates the special way that Srila Gurudev applied his intelligence in service even when he was apparently displaying the pastimes of forgetfulness. During that time some observers may have thought that Srila Gurudev was forgetting things and that he is an old person.  Material intelligence is the wrong term, he has nothing material, but still in the material world what we call this intelligence.  For example, we do not want to accept the root cause, we want only symptomatic treatment; therefore, allopathy as more popular than any of the ancient medicines. So he told us that once he reported to Srila Gurudev that there is a flood in some of the cities of Assam from Brahmaputra river. including Srila Gurudev's janmasthan village, Goalpara. After he reported this, he left Gurudev's room.  After some time, Gurudev rang the bell.  So Tamal Prabhu went inside and then Gurudev spoke to him.  He told, "See, if there is floo...

I remember one senior god-brother of ours approached Guru Maharaj, long back and explained that he was not able to get along with his god-brothers, and asked what should be done.  He explained the reply Gurudev had given.  He repeated what Gurudev had said, that even he had this problem in the beginning.  But then, he continued," I completely surrendered myself to the lotus feet of my Gurudev and then all my problems were solved." And this god-brother of mine said that he still I hadn't understood what, how it is done; what it means.  It is a fact, complete surrender, probably till that happens, will not be understood by any of us.   Different devotees recollect how his answers are so unique and something which is irrefutable.  It is complete in itself and is direct.  And sometimes this also happened to us.  In fact, I remember there was a sort of complaint against Guru Maharaj that people would ask him some questions and the reply would b...

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. ...

One thing I witnessed that is very touching to my heart is an event  I recall that took place in Mayapur. There was an acarya from Sri Vaisnava mission that came with his disciples. He was much younger than Srila Gurudev. When Srila Gurudev came from his bhajan kutir to see him, he walked all the way. I remember Srila Gurudev paid prostrated obeisances to someone that could be the age of his son. He was shaken and could not reciprocate. I was not feeling good to see that, thinking it should be the other way around. But we saw that Srila Gurudev was so blissful. The reciprocation was not sufficient, but he was happy anyway. Maybe even happier than if those respects had been paid to him. Even when he was sitting in the car to leave, Gurudev paid obeisances again outside the car. The humility he was expressing and the bliss on his face is the opposite of an ordinary person. At an advanced age and having so many big positions in the World Vaishnava Association and GOKUL, he taught t...