Introduction

ओं अज्ञान-तिमिरान्धस्य ज्ञानाञ्जन-शलाकया
चक्षुर् उन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः

oṃ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṃ yena tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ

This book is about the most auspicious life and teachings of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. It is with great pleasure that we finally present this long anticipated book about Śrīla Gurudeva who is a treasure house of the most ecstatic form of pure love of God. Those who are fortunate will take advantage of this book. This is more than an historical timeline of events, for this book wonderfully summarizes the entire Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy and siddhānta as practised by an unalloyed, pure devotee of the Lord.

Hearing about a pure devotee is very auspicious, as it eradicates all doubts, misconceptions, misunderstandings and confusions on the path of pure devotional service. Those who are seriously looking for happiness in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must certainly give up all preconceived assumptions and transcend all sectarian designations, so that they can read this book with an open mind and get the real benefit of association with a fully realized Vaiṣṇava.

Śrī guru is the personification of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy in this world. He comes to deliver the conditioned souls by enlightening them on the constitutional nature and eternal function of the soul. Gradually he reveals our eternal relationship and intimate service to the Lord. When we sincerely offer our life and soul to his lotus feet, our good fortune arises and in this way śrī guru opens the way to boundless peace and happiness for the conditioned soul.

everyone tries to remove their suffering and increase their happiness. Some try to achieve this by hard labour and following moral principles, while others take drugs, have illicit relationships, steal and such in an attempt to improve the material conditions of their life. However, we see that all these attempts are baffled and happiness still remains elusive. Whatever happiness we find in this world is meager and not everlasting. For example, one gains some pleasure by eating food, but if one keeps on eating, the same food that gives one pleasure will cause suffering. One does not want old age, diseases and death to come; yet they come. Any sane person will ponder over this problem and try to find a solution.

The scriptures tell us that we are not our bodies; rather we are souls, eternal parts and parcels of the supreme personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The soul’s eternal constitutional function (dharma) is eternal service and obedience to Kṛṣṇa. When the soul forgets his true identity as an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and instead identifies himself with the body, he is subjected to the tyranny of the illusory potency of the Lord (māyā) and his eternal constitutional function becomes perverted.

In an attempt to enjoy, the soul wanders in the material world taking one material body after another. However, all of his efforts to enjoy are obstructed by the external potency of the Lord. The material body is subjected to various types of suffering such as birth, old age, disease and death. The embodied living entity is always subject to the three types of miseries, namely, miseries caused by the mind, miseries caused by other living entities and miseries due to natural disturbances. However, the purpose of suffering is simply so that the living entities can realize that this suffering is unwanted and that this material world is not their home. The living entities can then strive for something everlasting or eternal.

The only way to achieve everlasting happiness is by performing devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is infinitely merciful, sends his eternal associates to teach us this process, so a seeker of everlasting happiness must necessarily take shelter of such people and learn this process from them. Such a teacher who can give us this supreme treasure is called a guru.

Service to guru is the backbone of devotional absorption (bhajana). Whoever wants to enter into the realm of bhajana, must first dedicate his life to the service of a bona fide guru. Such a guru will never consider the disciple to be his own property. rather, he will consider the disciple to belong to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Divine Couple, Śrī Śrī rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The bona fide guru will transfer the disciple’s attachment and dedication for himself (for guru) to Them. Altough he is an expansion (aveṣa) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, He never considers himself to be Śrī Kṛṣṇa; He always thinks that he is His eternal servant.

Our beloved Gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, is such a guru. Whoever reads this work will have a clear conception of the subject of Śrīla Gurudeva and his teachings. This book will be like a lighthouse that guides those aspirants who want to progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to reach spritual perfection. Just as Śrīla Vyāsadeva got inspiration by hearing the life history of his Gurudeva, Śrī Nārada Ṛṣi, one can get inspiration from hearing the biography of Śrīla Gurudeva. Without hearing about and serving śrī guru, no one can advance in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness either now, or in the future.

The mercy of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas is causeless, as it is independent of any material cause or piety. It is only by such causeless mercy that the jīva can obtain the merciful, sidelong glance of the eternally youthful couple of Vraja Śrī rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa and join Them in Their eternal loving pastimes.

Therefore, without the mercy of real sādhus and śrī guru, pure spiritual desires for perfection will never awaken and fructify.

In describing the bona fide guru, it is never enough to just describe his external pastimes–what he was wearing, where, when, what foods he likes, etc. To properly glorify him, one must explain his teachings and his siddhānta. unless one understands the teachings of the spiritual master, one cannot understand his mood, and if one does not understand his mood, one will not understand what his mission is all about. By understanding his mood, one can properly execute his mission. The mission of the bona fide guru is not independent of the previous ācāryas; it is the continuation of the mission that Śrīla rūpa Gosvāmī established on behalf of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrīla rūpa Gosvāmī understood the inner mood of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and thus wrote many transcendental books on pure bhakti to establish His mission. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to give vraja-prema through nāma, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. In the same way, Śrīla rūpa Gosvāmīpāda is giving the same vrajaprema through nāma. The same mood and objective is being carried out by the pure devotees in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line such as Śrīla Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja is similarly continuing this powerful wave of pure bhakti–bhakti that is without a tinge of speculation, mundane jñāna or karma.

Śrī guru and his mission are thus never independent. The entire disciplic succession (guru-varga) is always with him. Śrī guru teaches lucidly and systematically all that he received from his spiritual master–the a,b,c, the x,y,z, and everything in between. Without securing his guiding grace, one will not be able to understand the deep meaning of his message.

People with ambitions other than to humbly serve śrī guru and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are led astray by their own mind. Such unfortunate persons create enmity by finding faults in pure devotees and are unable to reconcile the apparent differences in the pure teachings of Vaiṣṇavas. We should not hear from such persons who are the cause of their own misfortune. To understand the spiritual meaning of the pure devotee’s words, one has to serve the pure devotee favourably and intimately and thus by the grace of śrī guru, everything will be revealed in the heart. We will then be able to appreciate and understand the uncompromised quality of the siddhānta of śrī guru.

There is no confusion as to what is pure bhakti but as long as our heart is torn with material desires we will not be single pointed in our desire to serve purely. unless we are ready and willing to accept pure bhakti in our heart, we will not be able to recognize or fully appreciate a pure devotee. Our intelligence will be polluted and we will lose this rare opportunity which has been made accessible to humanity by the most munificent Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has clearly explained that the greatest opposition in the path of bhakti is the impersonal māyāvāda philosophy. This impersonalism comes in many forms and keeps us deeply entrenched in illusion, such as the hollow pride of empirical ignorance, which makes its way into the heart of immature devotees, who under such influence regard certain Vaiṣṇavas as enemies.

All devotees of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya should take shelter in His eternal spiritual community and unite to fight against such impersonalism and voidism.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is declared by all authorities and throughout the Vedas. every living entity is His eternal servant. Our mind and senses are meant to be engaged in His service and only by such engagement will we be truly happy. This engagement is only given by a pure devotee. Śrī Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself to His pure devotee. To the non-devotees, Kṛṣṇa appears in His deluding feature. When the conditioned soul associates with the non-devotee, the Lord does not reveal Himself. Therefore the association of living pure devotees is most essential.

One’s nature is determined and shaped by the company one keeps. Such association shapes one’s character. The fruitive activities we performed in our past life and our past associations have moulded our nature in this current life.

By association with the living pure devotees and by understanding the Vaiṣṇava books, under their guidance, our lower nature will be transformed into good character.

The example is described in the Vedic scripture of a clear quartz crystal. It assumes the colour of any object in its proximity. Similarly, a person will acquire the qualities of whomever they join company with. Therefore association with saintly persons (sādhu-saṅga) is recommended throughout all revealed scriptures.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.23.55) clearly affirms:

सङ्गो यः संसृतेर् हेतुर् असत्सु विहितोऽधिया
&न्ब्स्प्; स एव साधुषु कृतो निःसङ्गत्वाय कल्पते

saṅgo yaḥ saṃsṛter hetur asatsu vihito'dhiyā
  sa eva sādhuṣu kṛto niḥsaṅgatvāya kalpate

By associating with worldly-minded materialists, a person is bound to undergo severe suffering in material existence. He will certainly have to bear the consequences of his association, even if he cannot distinguish between good and bad. By associating with saintly persons, however, a person attains complete freedom from worldly attachments (niḥsaṅgatva).

Besides earnestly engaging in good association (sādhu-saṅga), it is also essential to give up unfavourable association, as recommended in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (3.31.33–34):

सत्यं शौचं दया मौनं बुद्धिः श्रीर् ह्रीर् यशः क्षमा
शमो दमो भगश् चेति यत्-सङ्गाद् याति सङ्क्षयम्
तेष्व् अशान्तेषु मूढेषु खण्डितात्मस्व् असाधुषु
सङ्गं न कुर्याच् छोच्येषु योषित्-क्रीडा-मृगेषु च

satyaṃ śaucaṃ dayā maunaṃ buddhiḥ śrīr hrīr yaśaḥ kṣamā
śamo damo bhagaś ceti yat-saṅgād yāti saṅkṣayam
teṣv aśānteṣu mūḍheṣu khaṇḍitātmasv asādhuṣu
saṅgaṃ na kuryāc chocyeṣu yoṣit-krīḍā-mṛgeṣu ca

Worldly association destroys all of one’s virtues like truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, gravity, intelligence, shyness, prosperity, reputation, forgiveness, control of the mind, control of the senses, good fortune and opulence. One should utterly reject the company of a person who is not a sādhu, considering such association to be extremely miserable, for such a wicked and restless fool is but a dancing dog in the hands of a woman and is thereby simply bent on annihilating himself.

This book describes the necessity of association of saintly persons (sādhu-saṅga) and explains who is a bona fide guru, what are the rarely understood symptoms of a genuine sādhu and especially, how to attain the desired goal of life. The pastimes of Śrīla Gurudeva have been presented here so as to enable the devotees to associate with him.

When I joined the Gauḍīya Maṭha, my revered dīkṣā-guru Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja specifically put me under the loving care of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja and ordered me to serve him. Consequently, I received the opportunity to associate closely with both of these divine personalities. They were Godbrothers, dear disciples of Parama-gurudeva Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and the respect and intimacy they shared was unparalleled. For many years my dīkṣā-guru, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was the ācārya and initiating guru of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti.

At that time Śrīla Gurudeva was not initiating disciples, but was always guiding and instructing devotees. He taught all of us in the maṭha by his personal example, always emphasizing the tṛṇādapi sunīcena verse by Lord Caitanya, which states that one should be humbler than a blade of grass and more forbearing than a tree, and that one should offer respect to everyone without desiring respect from others. His unique quality was that he was always speaking hari-kathā and telling us that in order to get Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, we should constantly pray for the mercy of His beloved Śrīmatī rādhārāṇī. In his bhajana he was never proud, but on the contrary was always tolerant, merciful and a well-wisher of all. If there were any issues or disagreements between any devotees, whichever way Śrīla Gurudeva decided to handle the matter was always fully backed by my dīkṣāguru, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Therefore, whatever Śrīla Gurudeva ordered was the mandate for everyone in the Samiti.

The Vedic scriptures and the writings of the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas direct the sincere seeker of the truth to the pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. By submissive hearing with an open mind to the transcendental sound appearing on the lips of a pure devotee, one learns about Kṛṣṇa who is the Absolute Truth.

The conditioned soul cannot directly hear Śrī Kṛṣṇa on his own strength. His words have to be heard from the lips of a pure devotee. If one does not seek help from the pure devotee, one will surely be deluded. Śrī Kṛṣṇa appears in the heart of the pure devotee and only when the conditioned soul hears the holy name and pastimes of the Lord from the lips of such a sādhu can he perceive the Lord who is identical with His transcendental name, His divine form, qualities, activities and paraphernalia.

To properly understand the teachings of the great Vaiṣṇavas, one requires a service attitude that is free from mundane desires, mundane knowledge and speculation. The divine message is not transmitted by scholars interested in displaying erudition and minor details of technical knowledge. One will only be in a position to receive the divine message–that same message that was received by the guru in paramparā–when the guru is pleased.

One cannot approach the Lord without adhering to the method He has Himself prescribed. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself created the guruparamparā system in order to receive transcendental knowledge. Thus the living pure devotee is the perfect medium for the appearance of the Lord to the conditioned souls. Otherwise, the Lord will remain covered and the teachings of the great Vaiṣṇavas will also be grossly misunderstood. This is the bona fide way to understand and attain Śrī Kṛṣṇa that He Himself has given. There is no other way. Any other speculative and unauthorized methods to attain Kṛṣṇa are simply manifestations of impersonalism.

Lord Śiva once said to his consort Pārvatī:

“O Bhagavatī, among thousands upon thousands of persons desiring salvation, perhaps one exhibits the characteristics of a liberated soul. Among thousands upon thousands of such persons, maybe one actually achieves spiritual realisation and perfection. And among millions and millions of perfected and liberated souls, perhaps one, on the strength of his past virtuous activities (sukṛti) and good association (sat-saṅga), is devoted to Lord Nārāyaṇa. Just see, the devotees of Lord Nārāyaṇa are self-satisfied and therefore they are extremely rare. But look here. If the pure devotee who serves Lord Nārāyaṇa in the mood of servitorship (dāsya-rasa) is so rare, how much more uncommon is he who serves Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the mood of amorous love (mādhurya-rasa).”

May this glorification of Śrīla Gurudeva, who is very dear to Śrīmatī rādhikā, bring great happiness to the hearts of all the Vaiṣṇavas.

Completed on the occasion of Śrī Annakūṭa,
Śrī Gaurabda 524, 7 November, 2010

Tridaṇḍi-bhikṣu Bhaktivedānta Mādhava Mahārāja
(Dr. N. K. Brahmacārī, Ph.D.)