Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

I first saw Guru Mahārāja in December 1996 in Jalandhar when he came to install deities in the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-kṛṣṇa Mandir there. Before Śrī Devendra Prabhu built the temple, it was only known to my friends and I as a plot of land where we played cricket. After the temple was built, my friend invited me to a very nice function there.  We saw Mahārāja there for the first time and then we got attached. Then next year Mahārāja came there again and I went to the temple. At that time Mahārāja and Acharya Mahārāja were in the room and we asked a sevāk whether we can have darśana and he said, "Yes, yes, you go." That time I think Mahārāja was dictating and Acharya Mahārāja was writing. We paid obeisances and I spoke to Mahārāja and told him I wanted to apply tilak. He said, "If you desire to make the tilak, first pour the water in the pañcapātra and then call the holy rivers." I can't forget this kind of dialogue that took place while sitting near to Mahārāja; he was sp...

When Guru Mahārāja visited Ukraine his programs were in a public place such as a camp near the Black Sea, like a tourist camp. So he had his own room there and after harikathā or before harikathā devotees could visit him and speak with him. Generally, it was very free, everyone could come and ask some questions and he was very happy to answer them.  My personal experience was that when I met Guru Mahārāja in his room, he was very open. I was shocked because after association with ISKCON devotees for a long time it was very difficult to meet some Guru or talk with him. It was like an audience with some Prime Minister or President, very difficult to get. But still, when we first entered Guru Mahārāja’s room I was surprised that such a great person was at the same time very humble and he asked us, "How can I serve you?" It was very very sincere, in a very simple way.  He replied to all the questions that we asked and we just talked. It was like a conversation with a family membe...

I went with Guru Mahārāja to programs in Europe and the former Soviet Union States in 1999. He took me with his team and sent me in advance. Actually, I first came to Europe and then to the Soviet Union. So I was collaborating with European devotees and with ex-Soviet devotees about how to organize the program and how to receive Guru Mahārāja.   My idea was to bring him into the public as much as possible to different institutions such as universities and other spiritual organizations like ISKCON. We wanted to invite a lot of people and spread posters everywhere. We also had ideas to go to TV and radio stations and speak with journalists to give some advertisements about our programs in different places. So I went to different places along with local devotees we tried to bring him as widely as possible around Europe and the former Soviet Union. And Guru Mahārāja was prepared. Actually, we had an agenda for him in advance that presented him with information about where he would...

One time in 1996 or 1997 I was in India and there was an Annual Function in Ludhiana and pāda-yatra ( nagara-saṅkīrtana ). We went there by bus and at that time it was very hot there. The temperature was around 45 degrees; it was in the middle of April.  I had not taken initiation yet and I had just begun associating with devotees. We reached Ludhiana at 12 o’clock when the sun was at its peak and the ground was just melting. Everyone was thinking how we can walk without shoes? When we entered the temple, Mahārāja came with Trivikrama Mahārāja and other sannyāsīs and brahmacārīs . Mahārāja started maṅgalācaraṇa and performed kirtana : ‘Śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya prabhu, dayā koro more…’ As soon as Mahārāja came out of the temple and started singing " Jai dau, Jai dau " and before kirtana started, something happened that we can’t imagine. The clouds and heavy winds came and there was cooling there throughout the atmosphere. As we entered the main bazaar of Ludhiana, the halwais (s...

A group of us went by car to Goalpara for the opening ceremony of the Goalpara Maṭha. When we reached Goalpara, I got down quickly and tried to make the path clear so that Gurujī would have no obstructions while he walked up the hill. There were a lot of shoes around and I tried to clear them with my feet. Guru Mahārāja touched me on my shoulder and said, “These are vaiṣṇavas’ shoes. Never use your feet to push away their shoes.”  I did not know what to do. I was naive, I did not know anything about it those days. And I said, “Sorry, Mahārāja.” Then I tried to push them away with my hand. Then Mahārāja said, “No, you have got kāntimālā on your neck, so you can’t do that either.” Again, I told Mahārāja I was sorry. Guru Mahārāja was going up the hill and everybody was surrounding him. When he reached the top, he entered a room where he sat down and spoke with Gupta Prabhu. He explained that this is the mountain (pahad) where there used to be leopards and many Hanuman monkeys a...

I live in Boston, which is a drive of about three and a half hours from New York. Every year on the second Saturday in June, there is Rathayātrā in Manhattan. So we go down from 45th Street on Fifth Avenue all the way down to Washington Square Park. This is where Fifth Avenue ends. And then there is a festival in the park. So every time when I drive to New York, I recall when I drove Gurudeva when he came here in 2002. When he came here, he stayed four days in our house where we had programs. At that time we did not live in Boston, we lived outside of Boston. I took Gurudeva to the pier where AC Bhaktivedānta Svāmī arrived in 1965 when he first arrived in the ship called ‘Jaladuta’ to Boston and the next day he went to New York. We also had a couple of days of singing bhajanas in the park and in the Boston Common and I also took Mahārāja to the ISKCON temple. He really liked it over here.  I had rented a van (something like a small bus) to accommodate all the devotees coming with ...

I remember an unfortunate incident that happened in Kolkata maṭha . Due to a p ūjārī 's negligence, there was apparently damage to Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī's vigraha .  When the news reached Gurudeva, he displayed a mood that due to his offence, the deity has left us. He never told the  pūjārī  that you should not have done like this or that.   As I recall, at that time Śrīla Padmanabha Mahārāja was there and he asked Guru Mahārāja to please explain what could be the offense that caused this. Then Guru Mahārāja pointed out that where devotees throw   uchishta   plates after eating prasādam . It could be seen that in the very place were Ṭhākurjī's prasādam remnants like flower garlands and  tulasī were  discarded.  He explained that Rādhārāṇī thought that Tulasijī is disrespected here, so she will not stay in this place. "Tulasījī is part and parcel of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī and if you start throwing them there, how long will  Tulasījī  t...