We have been hearing the glories of Śrīla Gurudeva the last three days. We are also celebrating the appearance day of my Guru Mahārāja. I heard his glories from Śrīla Gurudeva. They had a very close friendship with each other, and they also had deep respect for each other. Without respect and faith, all spiritual connection will be lost. The most important thing is faith. When one has faith, whatever comes to him can be preserved. It will not return back to where it came from. Then, we can accept hari-kathā in our heart. When you have respect and faith for something, then that is helpful and works for you. Otherwise, hari-kathā will run on without you receiving any benefit. Elo āra gelo—it will come and go. Nothing will act upon your soul and heart. You will only pass your time uselessly. Your life will be very slippery. When there are stones inside water for a long time, the stones do not drink the water, but they collect all the dirty things in the water, and become very slippery. When we are in sādhu-saṅga, with Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, if we have no respect and faith, we will be like these slippery stones underwater. The most important thing for us is to increase our respect and faith. Externally, there is facility, and all good opportunities, but we will not get benefit from anything without faith and respect.
Pūjyapāda Trivikrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja, my Guru Mahārāja and Śrīla Gurudeva stayed with each other with fathomless love and respect for each other. Prabhupāda taught this process. He called his own disciples Prabhu. Everyone would call him Prabhupāda, and he would call them Prabhu. When someone offered him praṇāma, he would offer them praṇāma back, and if they said, “Gurudeva, please accept my praṇāma,” he replied, “Dāso ’ham—I am a servant only.”
Anything that comes to me—sarvasva guruve dādyāt. I offer to my Guru Mahārāja, Mahāprabhu, and Rādhā Kṛṣṇa. But now, people are greedy, and think, “My family, my disciples, my property.” Prabhupāda and our Guru-varga do not act like this. Vaiṣṇava etiquette is not like this. The most important thing in Vaiṣṇava etiquette is that we do not lose our faith. If we lose our faith and respect, we will lose our life. We will jump in māyā. This is the only condition in Vaiṣṇavism. Every day our faith and respect and love must increase. Then we are actually with Guru and Vaiṣṇavas properly. Otherwise, what will happen? Why did the conditioned souls go to māyā? They are conscious, and the parts and parcels of God. Why do they go to māyā?
nityo nityānaṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān
Kaṭha Upaniṣad
Scripture teaches that the soul is conscious and the particle of God, so why does he go to māyā? The problem is that we have no faith, no śraddhā. First śraddhā must come.ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu- saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ
athāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Pūrva 4.25-26
We have no śraddhā. We run away because we have no faith. These three transcendental personalities had such great friendship and mutual respect for each other. I also saw when other Vaiṣṇava or ācāryas would come, they showed great respect for them. As a sevaka, I saw after maṅgala-ārati, everyone would come and offer praṇāma to Guru Mahārāja, and he would offer praṇāma back. When they went into their rooms, Guru Mahārāja would go outside their door and offer praṇāma without them seeing. I asked, “Why do you do this?” “Why not? They come to my door, then I go to their door and offer praṇāma to their shoes.” He would offer praṇāma to their shoes while their door was closed and they were inside. I said, “You are very senior and elder.” “Does that mean I should be like a hill or mountain? That I should not do anything?” Guru Mahārāja would offer praṇāma to the door of Śrīla Trivikrama Mahārāja and Śrīla Gurudeva, and also to junior brahmacārīs, or Bābājīs, and he would take the dust from their feet. The devotees would weep, and say, “You are my Gurudeva.”I heard that Param Gurudeva once gave a strong order for my Guru Mahārāja, “You have been with me for many years. You have been with me since you were seven years old, and now you are mature. You always came with me on preaching, and wherever I stayed. Now, you must go preaching.” Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was crestfallen, and said, “Now I will be alone, an orphan.” He was very sad and thought “Certainly he will now soon leave this world.” Hanumān served Rāma, and did not leave Him for one second. He would fan Rāmacandra with his tail. He would carry Rāmacandra on his shoulders. When Rāma slept, he would massage his feet, and stay as a guard at His door. He was always chanting, “Rāma, Rāma, Rāma.” One day, Rāma said, “I am going. But you must stay.” Hanumān could not tolerate this separation. He went to kimpurusa parvata, and lay there like a hill. He lay there and was only weeping and weeping. His tears are always flowing there. He was so sad. One day he saw a dream of Rāma, and Rāma said, “Why are you disturbed? You should go wherever My glories of being spoken, and I am there. I am not separate from My kathā. When someone likes Me, and speaks My glories, they are My followers, and I am present there.” When anyone comes to your house, to attend any program, if they do not speak the glories of Gurudeva, they are not your friends. They may be so senior, but you should say, “Haribol, you are a great Vaiṣṇava.” Respect them, but do not give your heart. One who speaks the glories of our Gurudeva, he is our friend. One may be a senior mahā-bhāgavata, and you should respect him, and worship him, but his help is not helpful for you, if he does not glorify your Gurudeva. Cows eat grass, if you only give them rice, dāl, and rabaḍi to eat, the cow will die. Husk and grass is good for the cow. We are fallen souls. Gurudeva has accepted us. He knows how to protect us, so that we can progress. In other places, they may be distributing amṛta. The demigods may call us to heaven and try to give us amṛta, heavenly nectar. If we drink that, we will desire to enjoy like the demigods in heaven. Wherever we go, when we take things from people, our desire becomes like theirs. Our Guru Mahārāja knows how to help us. Wherever our Guru Mahārāja’s glories are present, we should go there. Rāma instructed Hanumān to go wherever His glories were being spoken. Hanumān said, “Oh Prabhu, Your glories are being spoken in so many places at once. How can I go to all these places?” For instance, Śrīla Gurudeva’s appearance and disappearance day is celebrated at Rūpa-Sanātana Gauḍīya-maṭha, in Mathurā, at Keshavaji Gauḍīya-maṭha, and at Giridhārī Gauḍīya-maṭha, and so many places; how can we go everywhere and collect everything at once? Hanumān asked a question similar to this, and Rāma said, “You will have no problem. Wherever My glories are being spoken, if you have love for Me and My kathā, then you can go to all these places in millions of forms, and you can drink this nectar, and see Me present there.” In Param Gurudeva’s time, he called Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja and told him to go preaching. He had sent our Gurudeva to Mathurā, and told him to stay there and preach. Then, at first Gurudeva would be with Param Gurudeva for six months, and then in Mathurā for six months. Gradually, he stayed in Mathurā eight or ten months, and with Param Gurudeva the rest of the year. Śrīla Trivikrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja was given responsibility to take care of the Chuṅchuṛā Gauḍīya-maṭha. He would also come and sometimes stay with Param Gurudeva, and sometimes Param Gurudeva would stay at Chuṅchuṛā, or Mathurā. Now, Param Gurudeva gave a strong order to my Guru Mahārāja, “Go preaching.” Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was very humble and quiet. It was rare to hear him speaking. He would speak in hari-kathā, or sing in kīrtana, but would never speak unnecessarily. He is a perfect sādhu, and has the symptom of being mauna, silent. Now, he lamented, “If I go far away from you, māyā is everywhere ready to attack.” “Do not worry,” Param Gurudeva said, “Māyā will not touch you. You are not far away from me. You should come be with me for the main festivals, Vyāsa-pūjā, Gaura-pūrṇimā, Ratha-yātrā, and Kārtika.” “Once I leave, I will never come back.” “Why?” “You do not like me anymore.” He had stayed with Param Gurudeva for so many decades and had never been separate from him, so now he felt as if a thunderbolt was striking his heart. Param Gurudeva instructed him to go preaching, and then to return at the four main festivals of the year. Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja took some brahmacārīs and went preaching. Param Gurudeva desired that the preaching would continue to expand. He did not want everything to stop. Now, many devotees are hopeless, and are not engaging in hari-kathā, following bhakti, and preaching. Now there is a good opportunity to preach. You can do kīrtana and hari-kathā in one place, and everyone can see this going on in their own houses all around the world with the help of the internet. In those times there was not the facility present today. They would go house to house, village to village, and help encourage all the new devotees. Param Gurudeva would preach in all the villages of Bengal and Bihar, but if no one went to keep the new devotees enthusiastic, then they would give up the practice of bhakti. Guru Mahārāja would go to poor villages, where everything was very simple, the roads were muddy, or non-existent, they had no electricity; everyone lived in a poverty-stricken state. When Param Gurudeva disappeared, everyone wanted to make Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja the next ācārya. He said, “I am not ācārya. If you want me to take this post by force, I will have to accept, but will do so only if you remain with me. I will accept this role to protect the society; therefore I will follow the order of the Vaiṣṇavas. However, we will all share the responsibility of continuing the mission.” He said to Śrīla Gurudeva and Śrīla Trivikrama Mahārāja, “Anything that comes to me, I will give to you. You must help take care of everything. And if you see any fault in me, speak openly. I will accept your chastisement.” Over the years he gave dīkṣā and harināma to so many thousands of disciples in Bengal, and he would go preaching in the villages to encourage them to follow the practice of bhakti. Guru Mahārāja would stay in the simple straw huts of his disciples, and when it would rain, as it often did, the water came through the straw roof, and Guru Mahārāja would sit under an umbrella, chanting throughout the night. They preached through so much difficulty. After Kārtika month, Śrīla Gurudeva would yearly instruct the brahmacārīs to go on Bengal pracāra, but they do not want to go. Gurudeva went in his life for so many years, but when Gurudeva tells us to go, many say, “Oh! What is my fault? What offense have I committed? Why are you sending me there? Am I your enemy? Why don’t you like me?” [laughter] Once, when Guru Mahārāja was preaching in the villages outside of the Sundarvan forest, where many poor people reside, a very poor widow lady disciple of Guru Mahārāja, who had two young sons, invited Guru Mahārāja to stay at her simple straw home. She maintained her life and the life of her sons by venturing into the Sundarvan jungle and collecting honey. Her husband once went into the forest and was eaten by a tiger. The village she lived in is called Vidhvapada, the widow village, for the majority of men in the village had been eaten by Bengal tigers. Therefore, most of the families were widows and their small children. Sometimes, the tigers would swim across the river and take animals or people from the village in the day or night. My Guru Mahārāja stayed at this house with his sevaka, Sundarānanda. He went outside at night to use the bathroom, holding a small flashlight. There was no electricity in any of the villages. He saw two large glowing lights coming towards him. He was holding a flashlight with a little light, but another two more powerful lights were coming towards him. He called Sundrānanda, his sevaka, and told him about the lights, and Sundarānanda said, “Gurudeva, don’t go out! Come back! There is a tiger just nearby.” Bengal tigers are very large and ferocious. The tiger had just crossed the river, and he was hungrily coming through the jungle. Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja returned inside the room, but it was all made of straw. The tiger could break through it in a moment. Sundrānanda Prabhu said, “Today we are finished!” They began to do kīrtana with mṛdaṅga and karatālas. The lady in the house understood a tiger had come. She immediately lit a torch and set fire to a pile of straw by her home. Tigers are afraid of fire. The tiger ran, and as he ran away, he took the household cow, and carried her as she bellowed into the dark of the jungle. Guru Mahārāja yearly went on pracāra throughout these dangerous villages. The next year that Guru Mahārāja came to this village, the widow lady had collected rice throughout the year to give for the Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā. The villagers there eat very simply. The tiger had killed her cow, and so she had no more milk, moreover, she had to care for the baby calf of the cow that had been left behind. She would only take some milk before with rice and some jungle sāk. But now the cow had been eaten. She had nothing to cook for Guru Mahārāja. She wanted Guru Mahārāja to stay and take prasāda at her home, but she had nothing ready to make for her Gurudeva. Guru Mahārāja prepared to go to the next village house where he was invited. The widow lady where he had stayed at the previous year began to weep and said, “Gurudeva, what can I do?” Guru Mahārāja said, “At the next village, the villagers are waiting for me.” The villagers were waiting with kīrtana, and they were ready to perform ārati. They had no flowers to offer, so they would give their own cloth that they wore down on the ground so that their Gurudeva could walk on their clothes as a carpet, and as he passed by, they collected their cloth back and would maintain their lives throughout the year by taking that foot dust of their Gurudeva. So many people would come to welcome him as he passed through the villages. When his lady disciple begged him to stay at her home for a meal, Guru Mahārāja said, “Don’t worry, I will come back soon. I will return for lunch.” But each village is 15 km away from the other. How could he come back? He said, “Cook and arrange everything, and I will come back soon.” Then he went to the next village walking 15 kilometers. They welcomed him there, and he went to the house of his disciples, and accepted lunch. In the meantime, the widow-lady from Vidhvapada cooked so many kinds of sāk from the jungle, like helan-sāk, haṅkuni, pulinga, and many leaves of the jungle, turning some to chutneys, boiling some and making sāk, and so forth. She was weeping, “I have no cow for milk.” She collected some honey that she had, and begged a little milk from the villagers. The villagers would collect honey with so much hard labor. They would take some honey and yogurt, and it helped them rest after working very hard throughout the year. In the afternoon, the lady offered bhoga, and waited for Guru Mahārāja to return. Then she saw that her Guru Mahārāja came at 2 P.M. He would daily eat at 11:30 or 12, at the latest. In the morning, if anyone called him for breakfast after 7 A.M., he would never take it. If his scheduled time had passed, he would never take anything. After bhoga-ārati was finished at 12, if they did not give him prasādam immediately, he would not eat until the evening. He was always very strong and serious. Now, Guru Mahārāja came at 2 P.M., and she gave him prasādam. He took everything happily, complimenting the preparations. She asked, “O Gurudeva, you have come alone? Your sevaka did not come?” “They will come afterwards.” She gave prasādam to Gurudeva, and he ate and said it was very nice. He took kochu-sabjī from ārbi that grows out of the water. This is turned into chutney with coconut and pasted mustard seeds. He took whatever she made from the jungle. She made rice that was very thick and red and was cooked with water from the local pond. People drink and cook and bathe and wash their clothes and bodies and do everything with the same water, from one village pond. Guru Mahārāja would never complain. The villagers would only cook dāl once a year, and that if they were very lucky and rich. This lady cooked some rice, with a little bit of chili. Potatoes were not even available in that village. The villagers gave a little rice for Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā, tolerating so much difficulty for themselves. The lady said, “O Gurudeva, I want to come to your evening program.” He said, “Yes come.” He said, “I will now rest.” Guru Mahārāja rested for an hour and then walked back to the other village. In the afternoon, the lady walked 15 km for the evening program. When I was going to school from Caṁpāhāṭī to Vidyānagara, I would walk from Caṁpāhāṭī to Vidyānagara, and going and coming took one hour each way. I would also walk to college much further, and then in the evening, go to the temple in Navadvīpa to see Gurudeva. There were not even roads at that time. This lady went to the evening program and was very happy. She felt, “O Guru Mahārāja came and took prasādam at my house.” She told everyone, “My Guru Mahārāja came and took prasādam. I did his ārati, and took his caraṇāmṛta, after washing his feet.” Everyone replied to her, “Guru Mahārāja attended the program here. His sevakas gave him prasādam here; he took rest after prasādam, and then sat for kīrtana and hari-kathā in the early evening. He never left. Now everyone began to argue and fight. Both sides were saying, “You are lying.” The village ladies quarrel very ferociously. If you ever watch them, you can understand. They bind their waist with a cloth, and they stand opposite to each other like turkeys, preparing to fight. I have not seen how they do these cock fights, but I have heard about them, and this is how the Bengali women fight. So the women of the two households where Guru Mahārāja went to, began to argue and fight. What solution came? Guru Mahārāja came outside and said, “Why are you fighting?” One lady said, “She is saying that you went to her house, 15 kilometers away and then came back here again. When did you go? You took prasādam here and then rested.” He said, “Do you know Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān, and Mahāprabhu is Bhagavān. If any devotee has deep faith in Gurudeva, and the Vaiṣṇavas, God will fulfill all their desires. When they chant guru-mantra, and take harināma from Gurudeva, Guru-pāda-padma is present. God himself fulfills the desires of the disciples to be with their Gurudeva. That widow lady was so happy. Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja said, “Bhagavān himself went and took prasādam at your house.” Some people had doubt in him. Guru Mahārāja then described exactly what his lady-disciple had cooked. Hearing their Guru Mahārāja speak such astonishing words, people went there in the evening to see that place. How can you understand who is a Vaiṣṇava? Why are people quarreling? If anyone has faith in Gurudeva and the Vaiṣṇavas, God will give him everything. But, even without faith, God is giving us everything. And for those who have faith, God will certainly give everything. God Himself went in the form of her guru and took prasādam. Gurudeva is the representative of God, the manifestation of God in this world. He is sākṣāddharitvena. All Vedic Scriptures proclaim this. God comes in the form of guru and helps the devotees. We should not think that Gurudeva has departed. Gurudeva knows everything, and looks at what we are doing. He knows what is happening, and what will happen next. Everything is being orchestrated by him. My Guru Mahārāja always spoke like this. Guru Mahārāja never stopped his traveling. He was always moving wherever people would call him, or even if they did not call him. He was very kind to everyone. He would not send news when he was coming. Sometimes he would come to Mathurā without sending any news in advance. When he went to the houses of his disciples, they would give him fruits, sweets, and this and that. Wherever he went, he would take what was given at one house, and distribute it at the next house. He would give away any donations that were given to him, his cloth, and everything. You would never be able to imagine how broad-minded and selfless his nature is, and how open and clean his heart is. Without meeting with him directly, you could never understand. He saw that the whole world was his family and the servants of God. He saw and felt that if he served others, God would be happy. But now, people think:To develop in Vaiṣṇavism, respect is essential. However, do not fight, and forcibly take the Vaiṣṇavas’ foot dust. You do not have to show your love and faith externally in front of them. You should sincerely respect them inside your heart.
āmi vaiṣṇava tumi vaiṣṇava ār vaiṣṇava hari tina vaiṣṇava takte kaṭhal kabe pare?
I am a Vaiṣṇava, my wife is a Vaiṣṇavī, and my child is a Parama Vaiṣṇava. No one else is a Vaiṣṇava. We will not share even a coin or grain with anyone else.
My Guru Mahārāja was not like this. When he came from Śiliguḍi, where pineapples grow profusely, and even rot on the ground and there are so many that people do not pick them up, as well as oranges, and other fruit, Guru Mahārāja would bring so many pineapples and fruits, and told his sevakas, go and distribute these to all the devotees’ homes. Then his sevaka would do this and return. Guru Mahārāja would never stock up anything. He freely distributed everything. Guru Mahārāja said in class, “I am only the footstep follower of my Guru Mahārāja. God Himself knows how to give blessings and mercy.” The widow lady in Vidhvapada had two very small sons. She came to Navadvīpa, and gave her two children to Guru Mahārāja. She said, “My husband was eaten by a tiger, and I lost everything. I am ready to live in the temple, but cannot. So please take my two sons.” These two boys later both became sannyāsīs in the Gauḍīya Vedānta Samīti. She would yearly come for Navadvīpa Parikramā. She would respect all the Vaiṣṇavas, and serve by sweeping and cleaning the temple. She would collect vegetables and honey from the Sundarvan jungle and bring it to Navadvīpa-dhāma for the Deities’ service. There are many types of honey bees in the jungle. Some bees have honey that is thick and white. And some honeybees make honey that is very thick and red. And the bees are very small. The honey is very sweet and tasty, and gives so much energy. She would collect many kilos of honey, and bring it all, and give a bottle of honey to each of the Vaiṣṇavas. This was her service. All the Vaiṣṇavas would give her the blessings, “You will certainly attain madhura-rasa.” Whenever she gave any Vaiṣṇavas honey, they would reply, “Oh, you will surely get madhura-rasa bhakti.” Even an ordinary bhakta would bless her by saying, “You will get madhura rasa.” She did not understand what is madhura-rasa, khaṭa-rasa, honey, sweet, or bitter juice. She was only a simple village lady, but she had so much bhakti. She was serving to her final day. When her baby calf grew up, she gave the cow to Guru Mahārāja at Devānanda Gauḍīya-maṭha. This cow lived for over 30 years. She had one calf, when she was young in the temple, and then, for the rest of her life, for over twenty years, she never stopped giving milk, even though she never had another calf. She would daily give one liter of milk, which would be used to bathe the Deities in the morning. When this cow died, Guru Mahārāja gave her samādhi in the temple. She would move everywhere in the temple without disturbing anyone. She would eat leaf plates that the Vaiṣṇavas took prasāda on. She would take prasādam, and sleep on the ground. When people came from outside, and tried to give her something, she would not eat it. She took only from the Vaiṣṇavas. She would take skins of the vegetables after cooking, and grass or plates from the āśrama. Once, while Guru Mahārāja was preaching in the Bengal villages, a half lame, half-blind boy came to him and said, “Bābā, Bābā.” In Bengal, one respects sādhus by calling them Bābā. Bābā means father. Guru Mahārāja brought this child to the temple at Navadvīpa-dhāma. Everyone said, “He is lame and blind, an orphan. Oh, why are you bringing this garbage to the temple? Who will clean up his stool? He will only eat and sleep, and destroy the atmosphere of the temple.” Some people were very angry and said, “Oh, he is like a dog. Oh, you have so many disciples. You give mantra and dīkṣā to whoever you see.” Because of their offenses, those offenders lost their lives. My Guru Mahārāja never responded. He would never become angry. He was so tolerant. There were so many disciples. He would accept whoever came by the desire of God and Gurudeva. He had thousands and thousands of disciples. When anyone would take dīkṣā and harināma, they received a very great personality. Without any announcement, people would come, and take dīkṣā and harināma, and become very pleased, and their lives completely changed. When this lame and blind person came, Guru Mahārāja gave him shelter. He would stay in the temple room in a corner, and would sometimes go to the bathroom, and then after some time, he began to crawl along the floor and sweep the temple ground. After some time he began to walk, and he would go to the cowshed, and would take all the cow dung and make it into patties for cooking. Sometime later, he began to clean the pots. Sometime later, his vision returned. He was no longer half blind, and he was no longer lame. Then, he incessantly engaged in service of the temple. Everyone became so surprised. By staying with guru and Vaiṣṇavas, all power comes. But if we have no faith and respect for them, how can we understand anything about God? My Guru Mahārāja would never be angry with anyone. He would come to class, and speak for many hours. In 1972, I would hear his classes. I came to Guru Mahārāja from 1968, and would meet with Śrīla Gurudeva, and hear from him. But in 1972, I came and heard from him. I would come back from the Navadvīpa College, and meet with him at 8 or 9 P.M. He would sit outside his room and speak with us. After some time, all the brahmacārīs were angry. Without him taking prasādam, no one would take. They were angry and said to me as I left late, “The gate is closed at 9 P.M.” They would not speak this in front of Gurudeva. They would tell me at the gate, “You must go before 9 P.M.” Why? If I did not go, then no one could eat. And every day I would come and he would speak hari-kathā with me. How would he speak! He asked me, “Do you know ontology and morphology?” I had never heard these words. He said, “You don’t understand?” He would speak so many high things. I was coming and going for two or three years during my college studies. When Śrīla Gurudeva was present in Navadvīpa, I would come every evening to meet with him. His room was there on the left side of the gate. He would save me a little bit of sweet rice that was given to him at lunch, and he kept it in a small bowl under his bed. He would save some khājā from Jagannātha Purī, some peḍā, or a little bit of sweet rice. I would come and sit at his feet, and some other students would also be present. He would speak hari-kathā, and when I was leaving, he would give a little bit of prasādam in my hand. Śrīla Gurudeva said, after I joined the temple, “Do you remember when I gave you that prasādam? This was me pulling you to me.” He told me this many times, even much later in his pastimes. When we were taking prasādam in Mathurā, I would not go while he was eating, for I knew he would forcibly feed me from his own cooking. He would not be happy unless I ate there. He has so much love. I can never forget this. When we celebrated the fifth centennial of Mahāprabhu’s appearance in Māyāpura, Gurudeva called me there to Navadvīpa for the first time after I came to Mathurā. He said, “You will stay for only five days.” We performed the festival of Gaura pūrṇimā until 11 P.M. The Prime Minister gave 25 lakhs, so much money at the time, for the festival of Mahāprabhu in Māyāpura. There were so many decorated gates, festoons, and so many shelters and facilities were arranged by the government for Mahāprabhu’s appearance day. Millions and millions of people came to Mahāprabhu’s birth site. I was there with Gurudeva until 12 o’clock. Everyone had taken prasādam, and was going to rest. I went to Śrīla Gurudeva’s room, and began to massage him. On one side there was my Guru Mahārāja’s room, and on one side Śrīla Gurudeva’s room. I slept on the ground by their bed. I went to Guru Mahārāja’s room, and sat there to fan him. There were no generators. The brahmacārīs stayed up throughout the night. One brahmacārī would fan Guru Mahārāja, and another fanned Śrīla Gurudeva for one or two hours, and then the next brahmacārī would fan them, and in this way, we fanned them throughout the night. We would not sleep. Guru Mahārāja looked at me and said, “Have you eaten?” “No.” “I have been waiting for you. Under my bed there is prasādam. Please give some to me.” “You did not eat?” I asked in shock. “How could I eat?” “How can I eat if the brahmacārīs have not eaten?” “Oh, you hid your plate under the bed? “Yes.” He was lying down, but then he got up and sat. Then his sevaka and other brahmacārīs came. He said, “Oh look, no one has eaten.” Then, Guru Mahārāja shared his plate with all the brahmacārīs. He ate a little bit. I said, “Gurudeva, the grapes are very sour, your throat will become sore.” His sevaka said something I will never forget. “Do not have prākṛta-buddhi towards Guru Mahārāja. Do not think Gurudeva is mundane. Why do you have this idea?” I said, “Yes, this is true. I am very foolish.” Without sādhu-saṅga, people cannot understand the nature of Gurudeva and the Vaiṣṇavas. People think they are like us. People would give many things to Gurudeva, everything was there. But he had not eaten. He knew that everyone would come to him. Many fruits were also there. But no one would touch them without them being offered. There was no room even for the brahmacārīs to sit. So many brahmacārīs gathered there. Five or six brahmacārīs were sitting by the bed, under the bed, and in the doorway. I’ve never seen something like this. We would sit on his bed and massage him, and fan him throughout the night. He asked us to sit on his bed. Sometimes, we would fan him throughout the night, and then fall asleep on his bed without being able to control ourselves. Two or three brahmacārīs would sleep with him on his bed, like his small children. He would never be angry. These sweet relationships are present in aprākṛta Vraja-maṇḍala and Gaura-maṇḍala. This gives us some indication of the reality there. If these divine personalities did not come from the spiritual world, and we did not make relationship with them, we could never understand the spiritual world. Therefore, they come to this world, like Gopāla Kṛṣṇa, very sweet, and as if ordinary, and have very sweet dealings with us. The Vaiṣṇavas and Guru-varga are expansions of God. They are His representatives in this world, and yet they play with us, joke, and have such sweet relationships with us. If we have respect and faith for them, then we can understand the reality. We can cross māyā, and be with them eternally. They have come for this purpose. If they did not come with an ordinary figure, then we could not go nearby them. If they did not take prasādam, how could we take their remnants? How could we receive that nectar? There are six processes to make relationship with the Vaiṣṇavas:dadāti pratigṛṇāti guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam
These processes are not for God, first these processes are for guru and Vaiṣṇavas. Those who have faith in this process can progress. Guru and Vaiṣṇavas develop relationship with us through these processes.
My Guru Mahārāja was always engaged in service. By hearing about these pastimes, Bhakti-devī will certainly come to us. Faith and love will come. I was not with him for so long. I would come in my college days. And after I joined the Mathurā temple in 1975, I would meet with him on occasion. I would meet with him for a few minutes in the Mathurā temple. When I spoke with him or stayed in his room for a few minutes, Gurudeva was very strong and said, “Hey! Do not stay there for a long time. Come here!” I was very surprised. Why is he angry? He had some loving possessiveness. Gurudeva would tell me to go and serve Guru Mahārāja and then return. You must always be engaged in one service after the other. We should not waste any time. We must have faith and respect for Guru and Vaiṣṇavas. Without respect, our life is useless. They are always engaged in their eternal service. If you are always joking and talking with them, they will not be disturbed or angry, but you will break their flow of service to God in the eternal world, and then God could become upset with you. You should strive to be a proper servant. You should practice this. One day, when you are qualified, you will have no problem. Now you are not qualified. Mundane people cannot directly relate or worship divine personalities—nādevo devam arcayet. Time is not waiting for us. We must develop attachment with the Gosvāmīs literature. I have desired for a long time to read the Vraja-vilāsa-stava of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. I once gave class before on Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi. That time was very different from now. There are so many books of the Gosvāmīs to read and hear. When we are present with the granthas, we are with the Gosvāmīs. When we hear Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi, then we are present with Prabhodānanda Sarasvatīpāda. Then our respect and faith will increase. When we read Mādhava-mahotsava, then we are with Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. When we are present with the Gosvāmīs and Guru-varga, Guru Mahārāja will be very happy with us, and will understand that his children are progressing and endeavoring. When parents see that their children are qualified, they are very happy. When Gurudeva was in America, he would tell some Indian brahmacārīs, “When you become qualified, you can get a passport and visa and come travel here with me.” How can we go to Goloka Vṛndāvana? We have no idea. We must take training, and become free from the influence of māyā, and then we will understand where Goloka Vṛndāvana is, and how to make a relationship there. Everything will be easily arranged.hari-nāmera naukā khāni śrī guru kāṇḍārī saṅkīrtana kheroyāla du’ bāhu pasāri
Harināma is the boat; Śrī Guru is the captain. They have come to take us to the spiritual world. – Article of Śrīpāda Premānanda Prabhu, penned by his amanuensis This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.