Śrīla Gurudeva traveled as a police inspector in many areas of Bihar. Wherever he went he searched for genuine sādhus in hope of meeting a transcendental guru. He also traveled to the Himālayas, and many other areas of India, but was never fully satisfied with any sādhu he met. He once witnessed a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sādhu wandering the streets, shouting the holy names of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and rolling on the ground in spiritual ecstasy. Seeing him, Gurudeva’s taste for bhajana increased.
During his travels in government service, Śrīla Gurudeva once saw a group of sādhus chanting the pañca-tattva mantra: Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya Prabhu Nityānanda Śrī-Advaita Gadādhara Śrīvāsādi-Gaura-Bhakta-Vṛnda. They then sang the mahāmantra:
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
At an opportune moment Gurudeva approached the sādhus and asked, “Why do you chant ‘Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya’ first then ‘Hare Kṛṣṇa’ and then end with the names of Rāma? Rāma came first in Tretā-yuga, then Kṛṣṇa came in Dvāpara-yuga, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu came last in Kali-yuga.”
A boy in the group spoke up, “Officer, don’t you know Kali-yuga is the first age? Dvāpara means the second, and Treta means the third. So we chant Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya first. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself in the guise of a devotee incarnating to spread the saṅkīrtana movement. Kṛṣṇa is second, so we then chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and third we chant Hare Rāma.”
Śrīla Gurudeva smiled at the boy’s clever response and went on his way. When Gurudeva returned home, he studied different Hindi books for references about the mahāmantra; he saw that Hare Rāma was before Hare Kṛṣṇa.
In 1945, a group of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sādhus came to the place where Gurudeva was serving as a police officer. Amongst them were Śrīpāda Narottamānanda Brahmacārī (known as Bhaktikamala), Tridaṇḍisvāmī Bhaktikuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja, and Śrī Rādhānātha Prabhu.
Śrīpāda Narottamānanda Brahmacārī was a disciple of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. He was one of the prominent preachers who served under the guidance of his senior godbrother, the renowned Ācārya Kesarī Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who is one of the dearmost disciples of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Śrīpāda Narottamānanda Brahmacārī preached vigorously in the cities and villages throughout Bihar and Bengal, such as Paṭnā, Dumkā, Rājmahal, and Bhāgalpura.
As the world held its breath for an end to World War II, the British regime struggled with the counteractive influences of Gandhi, Subhash Candra Bose, Nehru, and other revolutionaries who strived to liberate India. Because of tension between Indian nationals and the British regime, the government monitored traveling sādhus suspecting that revolutionaries disguised themselves as saintly preachers in order to freely move about and form conspiracies.
When the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sādhus came to preach in Sāhebaganja, Bihar, Śrīla Gurudeva was assigned to investigate their intentions. He was pleased to receive this opportunity, as he was always searching for pure devotees. The preachers were invited to speak for seven days at the home of a high-ranking officer, Mr. Banarji. Gurudeva requested seven days to fully investigate the sādhus’ motives. He was granted permission and instructed to send a report afterwards to headquarters in Kolkata.
Śrīpāda Narottamānanda Prabhu was an eloquent scholar. In his discourses he focused on the teachings of the pure devotee Prahlāda, illuminating truths of the soul, the Supreme Soul, and confidential secrets of bhakti—culminating in pure love for Kṛṣṇa. Śrīpāda Narottamānanda Prabhu was fluent in Sanskrit, Bengali, and English. Śrīla Gurudeva spoke Hindi and English, but only partially understood Bengali. After the lectures, Gurudeva asked Śrīpāda Narottamānanda Prabhu questions concerning the Gauḍīya philosophy, and they discussed tattva (essential truth) in English. The other devotees present were happy to see Gurudeva’s sincere interest. They observed his deep faith and knowledge of śāstra (scripture) and could understand he was from a Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa family.
[Excerpted from the Bhakta Bandhav Publications “Sri Guru Darsana“]