In the 19th year of the Śrī Sajjana-toṣaṇī, Volume 4-6, jagad-guru Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda wrote a collection of essays called “Āmār Prabhura Kathā—My Prabhu’s Kathā”. Excerpts from what Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda spoke regarding the supra-mundane and transcendental life and teachings of Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja on the occasion of his sacred disappearance from this world, are also being quoted in this compilation.
Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s style herein reveals a path which preserves a certain unparalleled speciality, independent of the conventional societal norm, regarding how to approach Śrī Guru and other transcendental personalities. This bears no similarity to the approach adopted by common philosophers to describe the lives of great personalities or their own gurus.
In the following article, jagad-guru Śrīla Prabhupāda humbly yet analytically exposes the disposition with which the common people make a show of approaching Śrī Gurudeva and great personalities. He does so in the course of discussing the accounts of his own Śrī Gurudeva.
“Āmār Prabhura Kathā—My Prabhu’s Kathā”
I don’t know if my Prabhu’s kathā will be relishable or not for everyone. But someone may think:
“What will I stand to gain by listening to your Prabhu’s kathā? Am I using my time and wealth to listen to your Prabhu’s kathā? How will my self-interest be fulfilled by listening to your Prabhu’s kathā?'
The Realm of Diverse Self-interest
Such questions and various forms of objections arise in a place where there is dvitīya-abhiniveśa (where the mind is absorbed in objects separate from Kṛṣṇa). This is because in this world, each individual is separated from every other by one thing—illusion. In this corporeal plane, the moods of “I, mine, and yours,” are seen. Therefore, the selfish interest of two individuals cannot be reconciled. And, the auspiciousness of one cannot guarantee the auspicious of another. In this world of separate interests, there is a difference between the interests of mother and son, husband and wife, master and servant, and teacher and students. Therefore, by speaking the words, Āmār Prabhura Kathā, in this world, feelings of such disparity or separateness appear in the heart.
Real Congruity
But such differences are not seen in the spiritual world. In that realm, advaya-jñāna Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is One without a second, is the only viṣaya (object of loving exchanges). The only aim of all the servitors in that realm, referred to as āśrayas (abodes of love) is to bring happiness to Śrī Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, duality can never arise when everyone’s self-interest is one and where only one person enjoys being the cynosure of that interest. In that realm of divinity, there is no conception of “Your Prabhu and My Prabhu.” By speaking of “My Prabhu,” the kathā of “Your Prabhu” is spoken as well. Correspondingly, when the kathā of “Your Prabhu” is spoken, the kathā of “My Prabhu” is spoken as well.
The countless eternal associates of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the non-dual Absolute Truth and the one and only object of love, are indeed His fundamental principle of variegatedness. Their exclusive interest is to satisfy the senses of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Disparity of interest can never arise among those who are perpetually absorbed in rousing the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s senses.
Therefore, in this world of disparity, people may or may not honor the accounts of my master. Nonetheless, since I am a lowly dog who is sustained by my master’s remnants, it is my sole constitutional duty and function (dharma) to extol his glories.
The Rightful Master of My Heart
I understand the word ‘Prabhu’ (master) to refer to that person who can extend his authority over me in every way, who can fully and always exercise control over my whole heart, and who in my every act, every footstep, every inhalation and exhalation, and every directive of life, is my sole ideal, goal and guide, or polestar. That person alone is my master. Someone who controls my heart for some time and after a while is expelled from it, who is my role model for a few moments but who, after a short time, does not remain so, is not worthy of being called my master. It therefore becomes apparent to me that such a person or thing is a mere illusion, or a speculation of the mind.
By nature I am critical, always looking for faults in others. My heart is so absorbed in attachment to my body and residence that the devotees call me gṛha-vrata, one bound by a vow to home and necessities. In my study of the life of Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja, I have read:
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.30
Due to uncontrolled senses, persons who are determined to pursue materialistic life proceed toward a hellish condition of life and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their hearts are never aroused toward Kṛṣṇa, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.
Having assimilated these words spoken by Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja, I become utterly overwhelmed with hopelessness. Here, Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja is referring to a person who is attached to his body and residence, in other words, to a person who is avowedly determined to tend only to the functions of his body and the needs of his residence. Since his senses are restless, he is incapable of propelling his mind in the proper direction—toward Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He cannot do this of his own accord nor with the assistance of someone else, especially if the person whose help he seeks is being guided by the teachings of a guru who is impulsive like him, that is, someone whose heart is not at peace. Such a person simply continues to encounter troubles and suffering, like someone who keeps chewing what others have already chewed and spat out.
Previously I went to many places, to many religious groups, and I attended many religious gatherings, but it was never in my fortune to have the audience of a mahātmā, a great soul, who could fully capture my heart.
Diverted Towards Illusion
I have stated that only he who is my role model perpetually, at every single step, can be my master, but some may not agree with me on this matter. It seems to me, though, that those people are simply cheating themselves. I am extremely weak and cynical. If I ever see a person immersed in trying to perform hari-bhajana for half of the twenty-four hours of the day, and then, during the other half, I see him engaged in activities related to sense objects, I hesitate to accept him, to call him my master. The reason is this: it is my nature to only see faults; thus, when that person’s account of his various efforts to obtain sense objects appears in my heart, besides his efforts in hari-bhajana, I reflect on such accounts and immediately fall under the sway of sense objects even more than before. I start to reason that if this person, whom I were to have made my idol, spends some of his time engaging in serving the objects of the senses, then why should I not follow suit, since I am his disciple and he is my guru?
These types of thoughts take command of my heart and as a result, I choose someone who is a sense enjoyer as my guru.
But then I see that instead of having kṛṣṇa-vastu (that is, someone qualitatively non-different from Kṛṣṇa—sākṣād-dharitvena) as my guru, ‘illusion’ has usurped that position. It is illusion that has taken command of my heart in the form of a false guru who is now standing on my head. Therefore, in accordance with the prescription of the scriptures, I have endeavored to take a firm vow to abandon such illusion.
avaiṣṇavopadiṣṭena mantreṇa nirayaṁ vrajet punaś ca vidhinā samyag grāhayed-vaiṣṇavād guroḥ
Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 4.366 (quoted from Śrī Nārada Pañcarātra)
If one accepts mantra initiation from a non-devotee, one can only attain a hellish destination. Therefore, one who has committed this error must take shelter of a pure Vaiṣṇava guru and accept initiation again in a full and proper manner, following all the prescribed rules and regulations.
Therefore, a guru whose form is akin to illusion (māyā-rūpī-guru 1) is an avaiṣṇava, a non-devotee, and initiation or guidance from him will have me glide down into the hellish regions. Reflecting thus, I took shelter of a Vaiṣṇava-guru as per the instructions of scripture. According to the signs of a devotee as specified by Śrīman Mahāprabhu, I understand the word ‘Vaiṣṇava’ in this way:
yāṅhāra darśane mukhe āise kṛṣṇa-nāma tāṅhāre jāniha tumi ‘vaiṣṇava-pradhāna’
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 16.74
Know he, the sight of whom induces Kṛṣṇa’s name to manifest (sphurita) onto the tongue, to be prominent among Vaiṣṇavas. In other words, he is a foremost mahā-bhāgavata.
My Master’s Glories
Vaiṣṇavas are perpetually steadfast in their attachment to the holy name. They do not waste their time even for a moment by engaging in any other activity. Therefore, just the sight of such persons causes the holy name to appear in one’s heart. In other words, the desire to perform hari-bhajana arises. It is in this way that my Prabhu (master) extended control over my heart. I witnessed how day and night he never spent even a fraction of a moment in any activity other than hari-bhajana, or chanting the holy name. If I had ever observed that he performed hari-bhajana for twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds of the day, but then for the last remaining second directed his attention to some other object, then he would not have been able to exert his lordship over my heart, as I am completely attached to body and home. In my life I never heard him prescribe any activity other than hari-bhajana. His one and only instruction was this:
“The living entity has no other obligation than continuous hari-bhajana, nor will he ever have any other duty. The knowledge, or conception, that an obligation exists other than hari-bhajana is indeed illusion.”
How much will a society that is madly engrossed in material pursuits and bewildered by knowledge acquired through sense perception take note of and respect my master’s words? This I do not know. Nevertheless, it is quite apparent to me that his words are the one and only directive capable of leading a jīva to his ultimate auspiciousness. In his songs, Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has also condemned all ideas other than this, as follows:
āra jata upālambha viśeṣa sakali dambha dekhite lāgaye mane vyathā
Śrī Prema-bhakti-candrikā 2.7
Apart from this, whatever faulty philosophies are there, all are simply displays of arrogance. For one who respects them and makes an effort to understand them, excruciating mental pain will be the only result.
Moreover, this solitary instruction issued from the lips of Śrī Bhagavān Gaurasundara Himself: “kīrtanīyah sadā hariḥ—śrī harināma-saṅkīrtana is to be performed at all times” (Śikṣāṣṭaka 3). Here, the word sadā means ‘without interruption’. In other words, perpetuity is emphasized.
Tridaṇḍipāda Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī also instructs, “sakalam eva vihāya dūrād caitanya-candra-caraṇe kuruta-anurāgam—leave all else far behind and develop attachment to the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya-candra.” (Caitanya-candrāmṛta 10).
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ verse, as well as the statement by Kapiladeva found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.29.12): “ahaituky avyavahitā yā bhaktiḥ puruṣottame—the bhakti that is performed to Me, Purusottama, is ahaituky, devoid of all desires other than to serve Bhagavān, and avyavahitā, free from the obstructions of karma, jñāna, and so on” (which is quoted in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu) both celebrate the fact that perpetual, continuous hari-bhajana is the ultimate form of auspiciousness for the living entities.
My spiritual master’s conduct and the kīrtana he performs have indeed unceasingly established this fact. Hence, ‘my’ master is he who establishes the innermost desire of Śrī Caitanya’s heart and is foremost among Rūpānugas. The beauty of ‘my’ master’s service attracts even Śrī Madana-mohana Himself. My master can take something that is unsightly (kurūpa) and make it beautiful (surūpa). He can dispel my lowly perception (kudarśana) and transform it into one that is beautiful (sudarśana). My sole desire, life after life, is to long to serve such a master and to aspire for the remnants of the servants of his servants.
. . .
I was engrossed in the many shortcomings of a baddha-jīva (conditioned soul). To fulfil my shortcomings, I became busily engaged in many material pursuits. I became madly engaged in trying to collect many sense-objects. I even desired the post of Lord Brahmā. I used to think that I could be relieved of my deficiencies by obtaining the objects of my senses. Therefore, I spent the entirety of my time in accruing many rare sense objects—but my inner lacking never went away. I met many great personalities of this world; but upon witnessing their various forms of limitations, I could not offer them my deepest form of respect.
The Acceptance of Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s Shelter According to the Instruction of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
Upon seeing my miserable condition, Śrī Gaurasundara, who is supremely compassionate, gave His permission to His dear associates, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, to bestow their mercy upon me. Being absorbed in false ego, I would praise the mundane self. I thus cheated myself of my eternal auspiciousness. But by the influence of my pious merits, i.e. the sukṛti accrued from my previous lives, I obtained Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s grace when he became my well-wisher.
My Prabhu (Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja) would often visit him; he would even reside with him for many days. Being controlled by his compassion, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura arranged for me to have the darśana of my Prabhu. After seeing my Prabhu, my mundane egotism started to decline. I used to think that all my fellow humans were degraded and fit to be rejected. But after beholding my Prabhu’s transcendental character, I realized that elevated Vaiṣṇavas are still present in this world. By my Prabhu’s causeless mercy, I was also able to behold the transcendental character and personality of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura.
The Disappearance Day of Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and an Opportunity to Remember his Transcendental Life
My Prabhu was known as Śrī Gaura Kiśora dāsa to the residents of this world. He entered the unmanifest pastimes of Gaura Dhāma on Utthāna Ekādaśī, the Ekādaśī that manifests in the last month of Cāturmāsya. In this world, a person’s life is told according to the chronological events of his life. From this viewpoint, I haven’t been able to witness the many events of his life as they unfolded chronologically. Conversely, I will relate all those incidents that I witnessed in his transcendental life. I will also describe those glories that I heard from all the devotees. By compiling all that I have beheld and heard, I am writing something about the glories of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s dearest friend, Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, who is also dearly loved by Śrī Gaurahari.
The Awakening of Auspiciousness by Singing about the Glories of the Sādhu’s Words and Behavior
By following the words and precepts of the sādhus, a jīva such as me, who is afflicted by many limitations, can be greatly benefited. The impure hearts of many conditioned souls can be completely cleansed by listening to the glories of the sādhus. By listening to the divine events of their lives, a jīva is greatly propelled on his path towards achieving his ultimate auspiciousness. Being controlled by this hope, I am going to start writing a few of the pastimes that unfolded in Śrīla Paramahaṁsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s life.
Paramahaṁsa Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s Birth, Lineage, and Householder Life
I have heard that he made his divine appearance in a village called Maṇḍalakar, which is situated on the banks of the Padma river, within the district of Faridpura. He appeared in a family of vaiśyas. He made his appearance eighty years before. The name given by his father was ‘Vaṁśīdāsa.’ After entering householder life, this great soul stayed in this āśrama for 29 years.
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja Renounces his Home and Wanders in the Various Holy Abodes
In his family life, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja was initiated in the lineage of Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu according to the pañcarātrikī tradition. He left his family business after his wife died and accepted the dress of a paramahaṁsa renunciant from Śrī Bhāgavata dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, who had accepted the dress of a paramahaṁsa from Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja. After accepting the dress of a paramahaṁsa, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja stayed in Vraja for thirty years, while continuously doing bhajana in Vraja-maṇḍala’s various pastime places. During this time, he visited many pilgrimage places of North India and also had darśana of many places of Gauḍa-maṇḍala.
He received the association of Śrīla Svarūpa dāsa Bābājī, Śrī Bhagavān dāsa Bābājī, and Śrī Caitanya dāsa Bābājī in Śrī Kṣetra Purī-dhāma, Ambikā Kālnā (a part of Gauḍa-maṇḍala), and Kuliyā-grāma respectively. He was also known to all the great souls (mahātmās) of Vraja-maṇḍala. Despite being known to many others as well, he never approved of anyone’s indulgence in any form of sense-gratification. While always being careful to avoid asat-saṅga (unholy association), he spent all his time in being solitarily absorbed in śuddha-bhajana.
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s Arrival in Navadvīpa from Vraja
Śrī Gaurahari was established in Śrī Māyāpura-dhāma on Phālguna Pūrṇimā in the Year 1892. It was on this year that upon receiving the order of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja came to Navadvīpa-dhāma from Vraja-maṇḍala Dhāma. He stayed in the different villages of Navadvīpa-dhāma until his divine departure. I had been observing that Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja started losing his eyesight from 1903. He renounced the dharma of a wandering mendicant in 1904. He then started to live in a cottage. Previously, he would wander from village to village in Śrīdhāma Navadvīpa and collect mādhukarī (alms). He accomplished all his services single-handedly. None had the opportunity to ever serve him.
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s Exemplary Renunciation
By listening to the glories of Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s profound renunciation, everyone will tend to remember Śrīman Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s associate—Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.
By accepting shelter at the lotus feet of Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, the mood of renunciation towards sense objects found its ultimate auspiciousness. It is an unflinching truth that this mood exercised its influence on any person who had witnessed the renunciation of Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja.
His ideal mood of renouncing anything that was unfavorable to Kṛṣṇa’s service melted even a thunderbolt-like heart. Therefore, we consider ourselves to be greatly fortunate by listening to the divine life of such a mahā-puruṣa. We also aim to increase the happiness of our listeners by these endeavors of ours.
Some Incidents from Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s Life
I had seen a tulasī-mālā around his neck and a string of tulasī-beads (held in a bag) in his hands. He would continuously chant on these beads and be absorbed in relishing the mellows of the holy name. I also saw some scriptures in his cottage that were written in the Bengali language. Sometimes I didn’t witness a tulasī-mālā around his neck; I also saw that instead of tulasī-beads, he had tied a shredded cloth into many knots and used those knots to chant.
I also saw how completely oblivious he was to his external body. He didn’t care if he was dressed or not. He would speak incoherently, while displaying a particular mood without any particular cause.
Even after ‘seeing’ him, the novice, the intelligentsia, the youngsters, the elders, scholars, fools, and those who considered themselves to be devotees—could not factually have his darśana (audience). This is the special potency of a kṛṣṇa-bhakta that is imperceptible to the eyes of the non-devotees.
It is true that hundreds of anyābhilāṣīs (those who possessed desires separate from pleasing Śrī Kṛṣṇa) came to meet him in a bid to have their insignificant desires fulfilled. But those very instructions that they received from him cheated them of having their material desires fulfilled. Innumerable people dress themselves as sādhus and act as such—but they are very far from being real sādhus. Unlike them, my Prabhu is not a hypocrite. Non-duplicity is the truth, and this was expressed by every action of my Prabhu.
Although he didn’t seem to be as scholarly as the others, he was completely well-versed in the essence of all the scriptures. As a fruit of his sublime kṛṣṇa-seva, he attained omniscience. It is not the aim of this essay to describe his mystical prowess; but his selfless love was unparalleled. Such love establishes the insignificance of attaining yogic, or mystical, prowess.
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s Humility, Neglect of Worldly Comforts, and Wealth
Because of being continuously absorbed in śrī kṛṣṇa-bhakti, Śrīla Paramahaṁsadeva (Bābājī Mahārāja) was niṣkiñcana (having only Kṛṣṇa’s service as one’s possession). Therefore, the desire for prestige was never able to touch him.
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja never had any feelings of hostility towards a person who tried to oppose him. He also didn’t exhibit any external feelings of love towards the recipients of his mercy.
He used to say, “There is no one in this world who is a recipient of my love; everyone is worthy of my respect.”
Not being able to understand his transcendental glories, worldly people who only professed to follow bhakti (while actually being opposed to bhakti) would always surround him while claiming to be the recipients of his mercy. Thinking as such, they would be engaged in gratifying their senses. Yet, Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja didn’t renounce them externally—and neither did he accept them in anyway.
If such hypocrites, who were opposed to bhakti, were accepted by Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja, then we would have been most fortunate to have been able to witness his transcendental bhāgavat-dharma. By receiving Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s amandodayā-dayā, their lives would have become supremely auspicious. As a result, their attachment to sense objects would have slackened, and they would have attained kṛṣṇa-prema.