Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

Whenever Guru Mahārāj would come to Chandigarh or Bathinda on pracār , one tall Sikh Punjabi gentleman in his late seventies would come to listen to Gurudev. He was very well-versed in scriptures, in guru-vani, ( Guru Granth Sahib ) and knew Śrī Ram Chārit Manas by heart. I observed that Gurudev would give him a friendly smile whenever he came for darśans . He would often speak to devotees in Punjabi, saying, "You will not find such a Gurujī easily. I have traveled to many holy places, attended so many spiritual seminars, and I have met many sadhus , but I have never seen such a genuine sadhu at any time in my life." He would follow Guru Mahārāj to such places as Dehradun, Chandigarh, and Bathinda to hear his hāri-kathā . He would also say, "Even if I cannot follow his hāri-kathā , I would feel happy just glancing at his face and felt convinced that I will never get such a sadhu 's association anywhere, anytime." Sometimes Gurujī would ask him to speak in th...

Bhāgavat-kathā and guru-kathā are the same, non-different from each other. Our Vṛndāvan Maṭh's Śrīla Bhakti Prasād Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj would say, “In this world, there are only two nectars: one is ś rī hāriṇam-sankīrtan and the other is hāri-kathā , guru-kathā .” Hāri-kathā is so very potent that it can revive life to even a dead, stone-like heart. Hāri-kathā empowers one to perform bhajan , to serve guru and vaiṣṇavas , and to listen more to hāri-kathā in the association of devotees. In 2013 I took a few of my god-brothers' children to Kolkata Maṭh for hāriṇam initiation from Gurudev. When I met Śrīla Bhakti Vijñān Bharati Mahārāj he said that it is a very great fortune that the boys are getting japa malās touched by Śrīla Tirtha Mahārāj. He asked if there is any great personality equal to him in this material world now? He repeatedly said, "It is very good, it is very good." So, it is my sincere request that these boys should consider themselves very very ...

Those who are attracted to Śrīla Guru Mahārāj's lectures through video or personally know that he always quotes this verse from Śrī Gurv Aṣṭakam (Verse 7): sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam In translation, it says that Śrī Guru, the Spiritual Master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and approved by all ācāryas . Therefore I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master who is a bonafide representative of Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His dedication and love for his Gurudev Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāj are completely sublime, he is so touched, he is so in love with his Gurudev that he practically cries when he thinks about Gurudev. I also have, not very much as compared to him, but I have some connection with him, I do have affection for hi...

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...

Actually, I do not know what bhajan is or who Bhagavān is. When I was posted in Punjab I had a discussion with a devotee that I met in a shop. He described some glories of Guru Mahārāj and after hearing that I had the desire to go and see him. That year Guru Mahārāj came for Vraja-maṇḍala parikramā and I went and met him there. And when I saw Guru Mahārāj I was instantly attracted to him and felt a lot of bliss. It is like only a person who is in deep trouble can appreciate the happiness that comes after it. After that my  hāriṇam initiation took place. Subsequently, whenever I met Guru Mahārāj as soon as he saw me he said two things, "Hey Army man, when did you come? Is everything in order at the border?" And the other was, "You know, Mahaprabhu went to Jharkhand." (He mentioned this specifically as I am from Jharkhand). While studying in a missionary school as a child, I won a book as a prize in a singing competition.  That book contained pastimes from...

We have seen our Gurudev deliver up to four harikathās on any normal day and sometimes it would even go up to seven or eight in a day at various locations in the cities. And his specialty was that he would invariably include Śrīla Bhakti Pramod Puri Gosvami Mahārāj and Śrīla Bhakti Kumud Sant Gosvāmī Mahārāj at the beginning and at the end of those seven to eight sessions in his jayadvani . This shows his śraddhā in them. Once Gurudev was in Jammu with the pracār party accompanied by Śrīla Sant Gosvāmī Mahārāj. As Śrīla Sant Gosvāmī Mahārāj played pastimes of sickness there, he was shifted to the residence of Śrī Madanmohan Dās (Śrī Madanlal Gupta Prabhu) the first floor for complete rest and also to enable the doctor’s direct observation. On the day of nagar-saṅkīrtana , Gurudev went for darśan of Sant Gosvāmī Mahārāj and to take his blessings. Gurudev humbly requested him not to strain himself to come down and to take good rest, and he agreed. I have heard many sannyāsis ...

When I came to the USA and before entering the IT field I was working in a motel as a manager.  I saw people eating all sorts of abominable things and feeling sad, I thought that I will return to India. With a feeling of great regret, I sent Gurudev a letter from the US and got his reply by email which started, “I read the contents of your letter and noted the points.” He went on to explain to me that seven types of people involved in such a living get attached to sin equally and advised me to immediately give up this job and look for some other job. If such a letter from Gurujī had not arrived, maybe I would have compromised with the situation.  For this reason, we need Gurudev's guidance.  When I put my foot down, the supervisor also compromised and arranged a different manager while I got some other engagement. Even before leaving India, I had written a letter to Gurudev where I opened my heart to him and spoke about my drawbacks. And the result was that Gurujī graced ...