Praṇamāmi Guru Tīrtha Padaṁ

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 ...

I wish to share some of my experiences with those who have met our Gurudev and the vaiṣṇavas in their lives.  I had gone to ISKCON in search of a guru  I was teaching in ISKCON gurukula .  I had a sort of weighing scale fitted in my mind with that torchlight of a little bit of knowledge from the scriptures and I was weighing the things of this world with my material mind and intellect along with that which I heard from vaiṣṇavas . By some grace, I realized this is not the right process and came to accept that only when Lord blesses me, then I will meet with Gurudev. And one fortunate day as I was coming downstairs after taking a class, I met Sri Raseshwar Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Goswami Mahārāj . I had some conversation with him and he told me about Gurudev. By my good fortune, I learned that Gurudev was to arrive in Delhi before going to Chandigarh Maṭh for the annual function. Along with my god-brother Trivikram das, we went to meet him. The mo...

During the period of Kārtik observation, Gurudev had inaugurated the guest house at Goalpara. Bhakti Sarvasva Trivikram Mahārāj of Bhakti Saranga Gosvāmī's maṭh was also present there and Gurudev led him to the forefront and also asked him to speak hari-kathā on that occasion. He spoke on the necessity of hari-bhajan in human life. This also shows how Gurudev would give respect to his elders. In 1997 Guru Mahārāj took the whole group of devotees and came to Krishnai, a small town near Goalpara near the Krishnai river. Earlier one  brahmacārī of our maṭh had come and requested Gurujī to come to his āśram in Krishnai. To fulfill his desire, Gurujī made this trip to Krishnai. We all went there by bus. His āśram  was quite small with a narrow pathway leading to it, about two and a half kilometers from the Krishnai town. It was in the middle of the fields without a single house in the vicinity.  When we all reached there it was afternoon time. While returning Gurujī...

When I went with my mother for Gurudev's darśan for the first time, my mother told Gurudev that I wished to take initiation from him and that I am already wearing tilak and kāntikar . Then Gurudev told the following verse: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā  -Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi, 7.76 [In kaliyuga there is no other way no other way no other way, except chanting of the Holy Name.] Whenever I came to meet Guru Mahārāj I saw many devotees enthusiastically coming and wanting to meet Guru Mahārāj, they had a great desire to see him and wait for when the door of his bhajan k uṭir   would open. After darśan , all of us would feel very happy. So I was very curious to know what is so special about him and later when I came in his presence he attracted me so much. I started to realize what charm and attraction he has, then I also developed the desire to take hāriṇam and dīkṣā from him. Mayapur parikramā is a very happ...

Everybody who joins Mahāprabhu’s movement eventually takes shelter of śri guru . I asked about whose shelter I should take and what are my duties? Devotees told me not to think much, just take shelter and receive initiation from my local temple. It seemed that they did not give it much thought.  In my case, I insisted on seeking the best, topmost spiritual master.  I went to Śri Rūpa Sanātana Gauḍīya Maṭh in Vṛndāvana. I prayed there to the Lord that I am helpless, please at least let me know whose shelter I should take.  As soon as I paid obeisances and started to leave, a brahmacārī came to me, I did not know him nor did he know me. He said, "You should take initiation. Śrīmad Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī Mahārāj is a Mahābhāgavat Vaiṣṇava .   I was very happy, maybe that was Krishna's will. I found a website run by our maṭh .  There I read about the glorification of Gurujī by a prominent vaiṣṇava and I was impressed.  That was the moment when I ...