Srila Gurudeva (The Supreme Treasure)
by Swami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja | 2010 | 179,005 words
This page relates ‘Juhu Bombay: Tamala Krishna Maharaja Takes Lessons’ of the book dealing with life and teachings of Srila Gurudeva, otherwise known as Shri Shrimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja. Srila Gurudeva is a learned and scholar whose teachings primarily concern the spiritual beauties of Bhakti—devotional service and the qualities and pastimes of Shri Krishna.
Juhu Bombay: Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja Takes Lessons
In Bombay, Śrīla Gurudeva would wake up early, as always, and do his bhajana. I would cook and serve breakfast prasāda, and around 7:30 to 8:00 in the morning, Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja would come and take Gurudeva to court, where he would be on call for the whole day, not returning until evening.
As the court case was going on in Bombay, Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja requested Śrīla Gurudeva to teach him Śrī Brahma-saṃhitā. He said that Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda’s English edition of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary on Brahma-saṃhitā was so high that he was not able to grasp his very fine, scholarly English. He was eager to carefully study this Brahma-saṃhitā because he had heard when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu found this chapter His associates would memorize a string of these verses and wear them on their necks for continuous rememberance.
Śrīla Gurudeva was surprised Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja couldn’t understand the English even though it was his mother tongue. So while they were in Bombay, from that day, Śrīla Gurudeva started teaching him Śrī Brahmasaṃhitā on a daily basis, as well as go to the court. After some time, when they went back to Bombay for another hearing, Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja requested Śrīla Gurudeva to go over it again with him, a second time. In this way Śrīla Gurudeva graciously taught him Śrī Brahma-saṃhitā twice.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja said that before he came to the temple he considered himself an intellectual but he could now see who the real intellectual giants were. He said that Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupādā knew so many languages and that English was not even his first language. Previously he tried to take help and read his English translation of Brahma-saṃhitā with the Oxford dictionary but still he could not understand. His pride was crushed.
We cannot understand spiritual subject matters simply by our intellect. These eternal truths are revealed, as Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā, through paripraśnena sevayā, service and submissive inquiry to Śrī Guru.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja said he understood how insignificant he was and that he was very grateful to Śrīla Gurudeva to have taught him this Brahma-saṃhitā again. “By your causeless mercy,” he appreciatively said, “I can now understand what precious jewel is hidden in this Brahma-saṃhitā.”