Editors’ Preface

his presentation of the English rendering of a hundred and twenty-eight handwritten letters of nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṃ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja is being published on the occasion of his centennial appearance (December 28, 2021). It is the result of Śrīla Gurudeva Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s utmost reverence for his beloved god-brother, whom he regarded as his śikṣā-guru and who dedicated his whole life and soul to their guru mahārāja, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṃ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. The Foreword contains Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s fond memories and profuse glorification of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and Letters 121 and 125–127 reveal something of the sweet affection and encouragement Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja showered upon Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. The intimate bond of trust and affection these two personalities shared has long been a source of inspiration for devotees around the world. By his sweet remembrances and continual glorifications of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has sowed the hearts of his own disciples and followers with an ever-growing desire to learn more about this extraordinary personality and his exemplary life and teachings.

Nourishing that seed and our appreciation is Śrīmatī Umā Dīdī, who has provided the more recent inspiration and blessings that have made this collection of letters a reality. A simple and humble Vaiṣṇavī, she does not advertise her depth of spiritual realization or the great fortune she has had since 1970 to associate with and serve both Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, her dīkṣā-guru, and Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, her śikṣā-guru. But she wanted to share with others the wealth of spiritual encouragement and guidance she has long treasured and cultivated. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja wrote over thirty letters to her between 1970 and 1987. Since many devotees know Umā Dīdī and have personally witnessed her devotion to her gurus and her impeccable sādhana, we have included her name at the start of those letters. That lengthy correspondence offers some of the most beautiful teachings and examples of the loving relationship between guru and disciple. Otherwise, most of the names in these letters were redacted in their original Bengali publications and were therefore unavailable to us.

In preparing these letters for publication, we were struck by the subtle and vital discernments Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja offered in regard to the practical execution of devotional service. How much importance is to be given to external activities versus inner meditation and mood? Where must the sādhaka and sādhikā draw the line between their personal needs, especially their physical and psychological requirements, and the demands of life, society, and the institutions they inhabit? How are they to balance their spiritual lives with their material responsibilities while living in the world? How should they deal with their own minds, their feelings of sadness or anger? How should they deal with conflict and criticism that arise in this volatile age of Kali?

We were charmed to see that in answering these and countless other questions, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja delivered his advice not from the lofty, inaccessible pedestal of a spiritual leader, but as a servant, as a loving son, and sometimes as a doting father or brother, openly writing of what may appear to be his own personal vulnerabilities, as he shares aspects of his own experiences. He has a uniquely subtle and enigmatic manner of communication, padding the occasional mild chiding between layers of wit, humour, and deep affection. With a plethora of intriguing proverbs and idioms at his disposal, he also entertains, yet tempers that playfulness with the gravity of a relentless flow of scriptural quotes. The fact he was known as the encyclopedia of Gauḍīya siddhānta will come as no surprise when reading these letters and it is no exaggeration to say that they contain the essence of the Vedas, Purāṇas, Upaniṣads, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, as well as the songs of Vaiṣṇava mahājanas like Śrī Narottāma Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and countless other sacred literatures.

Within this authoritative yet relatable delivery is the wisdom of an astute sage and the devotion of a humble servant whose plain and coherent message focuses on the importance of being simple-hearted and respectful of all, while taking full shelter of harināma, praying fervently for the mercy of Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas, having full conviction in them, and offering heart and soul to their service. His lifelong aspiration was to lead a low-profile life absorbed in the service of his beloved gurudeva and his guru-varga. Only a sat-śiṣya, a genuine, surrendered disciple or servant, can become a sad-guru, a genuine guru. “One who adopts the instructions of śrī guru is illuminated by divine knowledge,” he himself says, with full conviction, “… and it is serving guru that satisfies Kṛṣṇa, to which end one is to offer one’s whole heart and soul” (Letter 12). What is conveyed herein is thus the essence of a genuine master’s lifetime of sincere and humble service.

A noticeable feature of these letters is the author’s equal usage of masculine and feminine forms with word pairings like sādhaka and sādhikā or sevaka and sevikā, rather than a standard masculine form for all, as per the writings of our other ācāryas. In addition to this inclusiveness, the author has taken special care to hearten and embolden the Vaiṣṇavīs coping with a highly oppressive patriarchal culture, stressing the equality of men and women, particularly in the performance of sādhana-bhajana and, in several places, highlighting the beautiful siddhānta of Bhagavad-gītā that declares the femininity of all souls as manifestations of Bhagavān’s śakti.

Another special feature of these letters is the abundance of clear and practical instructions for gṛhastha devotees practising their spiritual lives amid the bustle of worldly obligations. Here too he repeatedly stresses equality between the gṛhasthas and the renunciates, insisting that in terms of bhajana, the two kinds of sevaka are non-different. As the ācārya of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti, he was regularly available in person for the brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs, but he dedicated a great deal of time to reaching out to the gṛhastha devotees, travelling extensively throughout the rural regions of Bengal, visiting the homes of poor and simple gṛhastha devotees, and offering them his unparalleled love and affection, spiritual guidance, and even financial support.

Other unique features of this collection’s presentation require explanation. For example, Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s original opening and closing words to each letter have been retained. This is because their poetic charm and elegance is lost in the lengthy translation required to properly convey them. These terms are as follows:

Snehāspadāsu/Snehāspadeṣu and Kalyāṇīyāsu—Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja begins most of his letters with the formal yet affectionate snehāspadāsu or snehāspadeṣu. The word sneha means “affection, love, tenderness, kindness” and āspada means “place, seat, station, abode, object of”. The suffix āsu is used to address a female, whereas eṣu is used for a male. Sometimes, he uses the slightly more formal kalyāṇīyāsu. Kalyāṇi means “auspicious, lucky, one who brings good, happiness, fortune, etc.” Kalyāṇi is also used to refer to goddesses like Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and Pārvatī, and this mode of address is a common feature of Bengali culture, wherein even little girls are affectionately referred to as Lakṣmī Mā (Mother Lakṣmī).

The other forms of opening address used herein are (1) sādara-sambhāṣaṇa-pūrvikeyam, which means “addressing you with utmost respect or adoration” and (2) śrī vaiṣṇava-caraṇe-daṇḍavan-nati pūrvikeyam –offering my prostrated obeisances at the feet of the Vaiṣṇava(s).

“Iti”—As in most of the letters of our ācāryas (Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja) every letter herein concludes with the word “iti”, which means “in this manner” or “thus”. In Sanskrit, iti serves the function of quotation marks and

is used to refer to what has been said or thought, laying stress on what precedes it. A possible equivalent is “amen”, as used by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja in Letter 127, which he wrote entirely in English.

Underlined words—Whatever portions of the text are underlined were originally penned in English by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja.

Verse translations—Translations of quoted verses appear within quotation marks along with the corresponding Bengali or Sanskrit text. These translations were not in the original Bengali.

Parentheses—Parentheses are used herein either to provide a Sanskrit term or to translate a Sanskrit term. Whatever few phrases Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja put in parentheses are also in parentheses in this rendition.

Square brackets—Square brackets have been used throughout to indicate insertions made by the editors to clarify various obscure points.

Footnotes–References for most of the verses quoted herein have been provided as footnotes, though some references simply could not be found. Explanatory footnotes have been provided for various Bengali idioms, proverbs, and other obscure points. We apologize for any error or shortcoming in successfully conveying Bengali idioms.

The process of translating, fidelity checking, editing, proofreading, and layout has been rendered by a dedicated team of devotees to the best of their abilities, fully depending upon the causeless mercy of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja himself and that of Śrīla Gurudeva Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Whatever is of merit herein is due to their causeless mercy.

We are presenting this collection of letters into the lotus hands of our Śrīla Gurudeva Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, praying that he submit this humble offering to his beloved god-brother Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja on the occasion of his centennial appearance. In this way, we can be sure our meagre offering will be accepted. We seek the causeless mercy of both of our gurus, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, praying that they bless us with spiritual strength so that we can embrace the extraordinary teachings of these letters in our lives and mould our lives accordingly. We also seek the blessings of the readers and hope that they will derive exceptional spiritual guidance from these letters, each of which is like a lamppost lighting the way so that any and all obstacles that appear on the path of sādhana may be easily overcome.

Praying for the particle of blessings of śrī guru and the Vaiṣṇavas,
The Publication Team

On the Centennial Appearance Day of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja

The Publication Team
Translation consultants: Śrīmatī Umā Dīdī, Amala-kṛṣṇa dāsa Translation: Śrīvāsa dāsa
Translation Fidelity-check: Madhukara dāsa Editors: Vaijayantī-mālā dāsī, Vicitra dāsī
Proofreading: Śāntī dāsī, Ṛṣabhadeva dāsa, Vraja-kiśorī dāsī, Rūpa Mañjarī dāsī Layout: Kṛṣṇa-kāruṇya dāsa
Corrections entry: Gaurarāja dāsa, Oṃ Prakāśa dāsa Cover design: Kamalā dāsī
Bengali consultants: Candraśekhara dāsa, Dalia Bhaṭṭācārya, Paramānanda dāsa (Kolkata)