Fill Your Life
and Others'
'Sincerity means that you eat every day, you go to the toilet every day, you
do all these things for yourself every day, and you must similarly serve
Gurudev, serve the Lord every day. Whatever you do for Gurudev (arati,
kirtan, etc.), you should do it every day. That is called
sincerity.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (13 Mb, 27 min | 27 April 2019 |
English)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Embody Proper
Conception
"Devotees must be always humble, it is necessary for everyone. Learn to be
humble, tolerant and to give honour to others from Mahaprabhu and Gurudev.
You must apply all these things in your life. These are the main things in
one's life."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 8 min | 20 December
2020)
(8) THE WAVES OF KAMA AND PREMA
'In English we translate the word prema as “love for Krishna”.
Actually there is no word in English for prema. Prema means
something like a mixture of love, attraction, attachment, affection, and
sincere hankering. When Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami says trijagat
kaila kama-maya he means that the universe is overflooded with both
kama, the desire for mundane enjoyment, and prema, the desire
to lovingly serve Krishna.'
Wed, 2 July 2025
Meaning of
Mercy
'Devotees always think that they are very low, that they are of a low
quality. If you think like this from your heart, then it is good for you. You
want mercy, but what is mercy? Means service. If I give you some service and
you do it, that is mercy. And it is also necessary to have surrendered mood,
not defending mood.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (13 Mb, 27 min | 27 April 2019 |
English)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Real
Relationship
"It is not necessary to become a great guru—we must become great disciples.
If you worship the Lord understanding your relationship with Him, then your
ego will be removed. We must understand that we are servants of devotees.
When this relationship comes, your ego will be removed."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | 20 December
2020)
(9) PERFECT HARMONY
'The conception of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is called the
achintya-bhedabheda-siddhanta: the conclusion of inconceivable
difference and nondifference. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught that the
achintya-bhedabheda-siddhanta applies to everything, and that
everything can be adjusted and harmonised by it. His teaching of
achintya-bhedabheda-siddhanta is not a vad, an ism. Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not preach an ism. He preached siddhanta:
perfect conclusions that make perfect harmony with everything, perfect
conclusions that harmonise all isms.'
Thu, 3 July 2025
Bound and
Benumbed
'We had to undergo so much hellish suffering in the wombs of our mothers.
After that, emerging from that suffering, we took birth and again fell into
illusory bondage. Everybody can say all kinds of things – people talk about
their parents, family, friends, and so on – but it is not so easy for
everybody to pronounce the Holy Name of Lord Krishna. Do you know why?'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Try to Forget
"How can I tell you it is easy to forget it. It is not easy. Even I cannot do
that, then how will you do it? When somebody abuses you, it is not something
you can forget. It is not that easy... But at least you can try."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | 20 December
2020)
(10) SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION
'I have been reading Srimad Bhagavad-gita and practising
bhakti-yoga all my life, and through that I have understood that
everything within Srimad Bhagavad-gita is important for everyone. I
have read Srimad Bhagavad-gita so many times, and every time I read it
new meaning comes to me. But the general meanings of the verses do not become
suppressed. Rather, more and more meanings continue to overflow. I am so
satisfied with that. From deep to deeper to deepest, everything is presented
in Srimad Bhagavad-gita. It is necessary for everyone to read
Srimad Bhagavad-gita every day attentively. Day by day I am more and
more enthusiastic to preach the conception taught in Srimad
Bhagavad-gita because it is very essential for the primary religious
education of all people.'
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Ashtami. Disappearance of Sripad Ajita Krishna
Brahmachari.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
"Wake up, look into the calendar and give 'jay' to your Guru and
Vaishnavs. Always pay obeisance to your Guru and Vaishnavs when you wake up
in the morning, always give them 'jay'. Always keep faith and show
respect to them. Always see the calendar—whose appearance day it is, whose
disappearance day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival, at least you can
give them 'jay', it will bring you benefit. When you give 'jay'
to your Guru and Vaishnavs, it brings you sukriti. For example, today
is the disappearance day of a Vaishnav—give 'jay' to him, remember
him. We must always remember the words of Vaishnavs. If I remember the words
of Vaishnavs, I get some benefit, some deposit through that."
In honour of Sripad Ajita Krishna
Brahmachari:
A Miracle and Wealth
of Our Mission[Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami
Maharaj]
"Ajita Krishna Brahmachari was an ideal servitor of Srila Guru Maharaj. I am
surprised to see his mood of service. I did something, no doubt, but he used
ten times more energy for the service of Guru Maharaj! That was his
peculiarity. That type of all-rounder brahmachari was the wealth of
our mission."
The
Tireless Servitor[Sri Gaudiya
Darshan]
An article written by Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj in
honour of the passing of Sripad Ajita Krishna Prabhu Seva Saurabh. It was
first published in Sri Gaudiya Darsan on 19 September 1971.
The
Best of All Servitors[Sri Gaudiya
Darshan]
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's tribute to Sripad Ajita
Krishna Das Brahmachari Seva Saurabh.
•SONG:
Ye anila
prema-dhana |
যে আনিল প্রেমধন "Where are the saviours of the fallen souls? Not finding Sri Gauranga, who
performed His Pastimes with all His associates, Narottam Das weeps."
•SONG:
Ohe Vaisnava
Thakura |
(ওহে) বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর "O worshippable Vaishnav, ocean of grace, be merciful to this servant.
Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp your feet. You can give
Krishna, you have that power. Calling, 'Krishna!' 'Krishna!', I run after
you."
•SONG:
Ki-rupe paiba
seva |
কিরূপে পাইব সেবা "I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment
to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! Prabhu, you see no fault in others, you are the
saviour of the fallen. Please deliver Narottam this time!"
•SONG:
Dhana mora
nityananda |
ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs'
name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of
Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."
Fri, 4 July 2025
Within and
Without
'What is that thing inside this body that makes it work? It is called the
soul. The soul and the body are not one and the same. Because we are misled
about the relation between the body and the soul, we think that our souls and
our bodies are one and the same thing.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Bound by Loving
Service
"It is necessary to understand how one should serve their Guru. You will
serve your Guru with much love and affection. They do not know how close the
relationship between Gurudev and me was. Gurudev gradually started to depend
on me—when he came to Nabadwip, he would always depend on me in everything,
and he said, 'I am coming here only because I know I can come and you will
take care of everything.'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.9 Mb, 10 min | 27 December
2020)
(11) SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION
'Krishna’s advice is revolutionary but also simple. It is actually a direct
description of the jiva soul’s position as His eternal servant.
Krishna’s teaching is actually an expression of the universal spirituality
natural to all souls: anything not done in Krishna consciousness is sinful,
and everything done for Krishna is pious. This is the key to harmonising
everything and understanding Krishna’s revolutionary teaching at the
conclusion of Srimad Bhagavad-gita and throughout Srimad
Bhagavatam—Krishna’s subjective revolution of consciousness.'
Sat, 5 July 2025
Think about
Your Actual Self
'In this material world, we are always busy with our own material lives. But
try to understand what your soul wants, what your soul is meant to do. Try to
know who you are first. Before you try to understand the world, try to
understand yourselves.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Deep Service
Mood
"Chatak bird always waits for rain, and we too should have this hankering for
service. By hook or by crook, I always wanted to please Gurudev. It is
necessary to have service mood, and to have service mood you must have love
and affection and always engage in sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam,
etc."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.8 Mb, 9 min | 27 December
2020)
(12) SURRENDER
'Krishna is always with us. He lives in our heart in the form of Paramatma.
From within our hearts He observes everything we do and all the reactions we
create for ourselves. Whenever we consciously surrender to Him and act
according to our nature as His eternal servants, He removes all of our
karmic reactions, fills our hearts with happiness, joy, and beauty,
and gives us entrance into the ecstatic world of Goloka Vrindavan Dham.'
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Dasami. Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj
(a disciple of Srila Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad, a sannyas disciple and a
dear associate of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj). Departure of
Sriyukta Krishnamayi Devi. Punar Yatra of Sri Sri Jagannathdev (return
journey of the Chariots).
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
"Wake up, look into the calendar and give 'jay' to your Guru and
Vaishnavs. Always pay obeisance to your Guru and Vaishnavs when you wake up
in the morning, always give them 'jay'. Always keep faith and show
respect to them. Always see the calendar—whose appearance day it is, whose
disappearance day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival, at least you can
give them 'jay', it will bring you benefit. When you give 'jay'
to your Guru and Vaishnavs, it brings you sukriti. For example, today
is the disappearance day of a Vaishnav—give 'jay' to him, remember
him. We must always remember the words of Vaishnavs. If I remember the words
of Vaishnavs, I get some benefit, some deposit through that."
In honour of Srila Bhakti Kamal
Madhusudan Maharaj:
Pranam-mantra of Srimad Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj, composed by Srila
Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj:
"I offer my obeisance unto the great Guru Srimad Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan
Maharaj. His tall, tranquil form, adorned with a tridanda and garments the
colour of the newly risen sun, is the embodiment of mercy. He is an
affectionate king amongst the Gaudiya Vaishnava sannyasis, an ocean of
Vedantic knowledge, and always rapt with the ecstatic taste of Sri Sri
Guru-Gauranga's kirtan."
Godbrothers'
Bond
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj tells about
the close and reverent relationship that Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar
Dev-Goswami Maharaj had with his godbrothers, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami
Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj, and Srila Krishna Das Babaji
Maharaj.
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 4 min | 19 September
2009)
Invoking
Vaishnavs' Mercy
"Today is Srimad Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj's appearance day. Wherever
he is staying now, whether in Goloka Vrindavan or anywhere else, we are
praying to him, 'Wherever you are now, please give us some mercy.'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.1 Mb, 13 min)
In honour of Sri Krishna Mayi Devi Dasi:
Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj remembers:
"When Krishnamayi Didi's son and son-in-law both died. She was in great
distress and came here to take shelter. Her son and myself were both the same
age. Krishnamayi Didi saw that Srila Guru Maharaj gave me much affection,
therefore she treated me as her son and would always give me much
enthusiasm.
"She came from a very high family. Both her father's family and her husband's
family were very high brahmanas, but they were smarta and so none of them
liked the Vaishnav Temples. Krishnamayi Didi was previously coming here but
hiddenly. Because her family were smarta they did not give her permission to
come, but she came anyway. Her family knew Srila Guru Maharaj since childhood
as Srila Guru Maharaj was their relative and also came from a very prominent
smarta brahmana family. Outwardly, therefore, they did not say anything wrong
to Krishnamayi Didi but they expressed their objection in many ways. She did
not listen to them but told, 'I have a great Guru and I cannot leave his
lotus feet.' When her very good son-in-law died she became very distressed
and could not remain living in her house. She came to take shelter of Srila
Guru Maharaj and offered her house to him. She said to me, 'Please you sell
my house.' I eventually was able to sell it for a good price and, according
to her wish, gave the money to Srila Guru Maharaj. He made one small
single-roomed bungalow for her to live in. It is known as Govinda Dham and is
where she now stays.
"The first lady to help Srila Guru Maharaj in the Math was Rama Didi. When
she would go to stay with her relatives, Krishnamayi Didi would help to look
after Srila Guru Maharaj. It was necessary to cook in a very precise way for
Srila Guru Maharaj otherwise he would get a headache. Krishnamayi Didi learnt
to cook for him from Rama Didi. We would offer Srila Guru Maharaj her
preparations, but after maybe two or three years she herself would take him
his prasadam and offer it directly to him. At that time Srila Guru Maharaj
could not see very well. One day Krishnamayi Didi was giving something to
Srila Guru Maharaj and by chance her finger and Srila Guru Maharaj's finger
touched. Immediately she paid her obeisances to Srila Guru Maharaj saying,
'Oh, I have made a great offence!' I was there and saw Srila Guru Maharaj
smile a little, thinking, 'She has acted perfectly.'
"Srila Guru Maharaj was becoming old, his pulse and blood pressure were low
and his health was deteriorating. And after that incident Krishnamayi Didi
became close in the service to Srila Guru Maharaj. So from that first
situation where no lady could enter his room we have seen how presently
Krishnamayi Didi began rendering service to Srila Guru Maharaj, and later
Rama Didi and so many others also came and served him in various ways."
Digesting
Gurudev's Love
"They cannot understand how much love and affection Gurudev has for them.
They think Gurudev loves his disciples but not his godbrothers and
godsisters, and that is why they left..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.3 Mb, 4 min | 11 March 2016)
Prayers to Sri Vaishnav Thakur:
•SONG:
Ei-bara karuna kara |
এইবার করুণা কর "O worshippable Vaisnava, be merciful to me this time. O saviour of the
fallen, without you there is no one. In every birth I aspire for the dust of
your feet."
•SONG:
Ohe Vaisnava
Thakura |
(ওহে) বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর "O worshippable Vaishnav, ocean of grace, be merciful to this servant.
Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp your feet. You can give
Krishna, you have that power. Calling, 'Krishna!' 'Krishna!', I run after
you."
•SONG:
Ki-rupe paiba seva |
কিরূপে পাইব সেবা "I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! Prabhu, you see no fault in others, you are the saviour of the fallen. Please deliver Narottam this time!"
•SONG:
Dhana mora nityananda |
ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs'
name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of
Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."
•SONG:
Ye
anila prema-dhana |
যে আনিল প্রেমধন "Where has Advaita Acharya gone? Where are my Svarup, Rupa, Sanatan? Where
is my Raghunath? Where are the saviours of the fallen souls?"
Sun, 6 July 2025 (Sri Sayan Ekadasi)
Pivotal
Difference
'Your life revolves around eating, sleeping, fearing for your lives and
procreating, but even dogs and goats live like this. So, what is the
difference between us and animals then? They do the same things as we. But
the difference appears when and if we practise Krishna consciousness.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Ideal of
Surrender
"Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam is an important book in our line. There
are so many highest things written here in a very beautiful way. I read it
today again after many years, and I liked it a lot, I am thinking I must read
it again and again."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min | 27 December 2020)
(13) THE TRANSCENDENTAL SERVICE WORLD
'Sometimes great hope comes to us in our lives, and sometimes hopeless
situations come to us, but we do not become frustrated in any way, and we do
not leave Krishna consciousness. We only try to engage ourselves in Krishna’s
service. We cannot leave our internal enemies forever. From time to time our
internal enemies will disturb us. Sometimes we will be submerged in them. I
can understand now that such immersion is for our purification, and that we
will not remain immersed in them forever. This is our position, and all we
can do is try to not allow ourselves to always be a servant of our mundane
desires, while we pray to the Lord for His mercy and try to engage in His
service.'
Sri Ekadasi Guidance Guidelines on how to observe and honour this holy day: Ekadasi takes an
indispensible part in the life of a sincere practitioner. At Sri Chaitanya
Saraswat Math, Ekadasi and paran are observed with affection and without
fail according to the dates given in the Calendar.
Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj about fasting on ekadasi and
accepting material facilities:
"One time, a devotee came here from Vrindavan on the day of
ekadasi. He reached in the evening and, after taking bath in the
Ganges, attended kirtans, danced, circumambulated the temple and so
on. Then, I asked him whether he would take any anukalpa. He replied,
'Generally, I do not take anything, but if you like, then, of course, I must
take anukalpa. Your will is greater than my fasting.' That was his
decision.
"My Guru Maharaj (Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur)
always wanted maximum energy: you should take good food and do good service.
That was his maxim. Krishna is not a liquidated party: take full
prasadam and do full service. Do maximum service, and you should take
whatever is necessary for that. You are to take it for the cause of Krishna,
not for your own cause. You are Krishna's, so if you grow weak, His service
will be hampered, and both you and Krishna will be losers thereby. 'My
soldiers will be well-fed and well-working.' That was our Guru Maharaj's
principle. Napoleon said, 'One full-fed soldier is equal to ten half-fed
soldiers.'
"So, prasad-seva: if it is service, then it must be taken in a
serving mood, of course. But, at the same time, the individual position of a
devotee should be taken into consideration. Sahajiyas do not Fast on
ekadasi at all: 'Oh, we are in Vrindavan, and there is no fasting in
Vrindavan.' But Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Prabhupad did not like that –
it is sahajiya (imitation) if you go on feeding your senses in the
name of Krishna-bhakti (devotion to the Lord). For the service to Krishna, it
is necessary to keep up the body and to provide nourishment to it, so we must
take what is necessary for service. We do not like it if by fasting a loss of
energy is effected. If fasting does not hamper your service, you may go on
fasting – perhaps, your gurudev wanted that...
"For service, I must accept what is necessary to make me physically
fit so that I can render more service. So, accepting material things is not
objectionable. It is fruitful, not detrimental. Rather, it produces something
of a pure character, which helps everyone. This is how a disciple receives
and accepts things. At that same time, he may even blame himself, 'I cannot
go on with my worldly life without the help of this or that!' He will blame
himself, but the underlying spirit must be, 'If I do not take it, I shall be
unfit; I will not be able to do my bit of service to the Lord, to my
gurudev.'
"Moreover, by taking up renunciation, I will be a loser. I will incur
a loss for myself, for the world, and my guru's service will be
hampered. In this spirit, devotees are to take everything. For the cause of
Krishna, for the cause of their guru, they will accept anything.
"Suppose there is a very miserly karmachari (manager). Because
he does not want to spend money, he may not attain a particular result; then,
some difficulty comes, and the opportunity is lost. This manager will be held
responsible by the proprietor: 'Why did you not spend money? Why are you
afraid of spending money from my store? Because of your miserly habit, the
opportunity has been lost! Why should you not spend My money for My
interest?' So, to render service to Krishna, to my gurudev, to
Vaishnavs, to the world, to everyone, I must keep up this mundane body, and I
am entitled to take something for that.
"Miserliness is mayavada; it is the renunciation spirit, and it
will mar Krishna's interest. What we need is yukta-vairagya: I shall
take from the store of Krishna to keep myself fit and to do service. It is
Krishna's account, and if I do not do that, I should be a separatist, a
mayavadi, a renunciationist. I shall render maximum service to
Krishna, and I must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary to make
myself fit for the service; otherwise, I shall be punishable."
•"Sri
Ekadasi"
(Sri Sri Prema Vivarta)
"One day, Gaurahari left the Gundicha Temple and sat in the Jagannath
Vallabha garden. It was pure Ekadasi, and the Lord spent the whole day and
night chanting the Name of Krishna..."
•SONG:
Suddha-bhakata |
শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু "I carefully observe the holy days related to Madhava, they are the mother
of devotion."
•SONG:
Sri hari-vasare |
শ্রীহরি-বাসরে হরি "On the holy day of Sri Hari, Sriman Mahaprabhu, the life and
soul of the universe, began dancing..."
"You do not need to know the meaning of each ekadasi tithi because if
you know it, you will want to get this result, that result, etc."
(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
Mon, 7 July 2025
Forget Me Not
'Because we forget about God, we are now suffering the agony of threefold
miseries. You think, "I am very poor, but those who have a lot of money must
have nothing to worry about in their lives..." It is not so. There is no
peace in this world – nobody lives worry-free here.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Spiritual
Chastity
"Actually, Gaudiya mission is very big, and our line is the line of Srila
Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj—we find all perfection, all fulfilment in this
line. Do not bring other conceptions to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. Be
chaste to our Guru."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.3 Mb, 11 min | 27 December
2020)
(14) THE TRANSCENDENTAL VIBRATION FORM
OF THE LORD
'When we chant the Lord’s Holy Name it is not necessary to think or focus on
anything. We only need to chant in a prayerful mood of surrender,
considering, “I am Yours, and You are mine.” Through this mood our
relationship with the Lord will be finalised. At first it will not become
final, but by chanting, chanting, and chanting, slowly the source of our
chanting, the Lord, will fully acquire our mind. The Lord’s Holy Name will
enter our heart and give us full nourishment: supreme benefit,
auspiciousness, and so on. We have no other way but to chant the Lord’s Holy
Name in humble surrender.'
Tue, 8 July 2025
Antidote to
Material Life
'The problem is that you hear about it, but you are not doing it. You have
got this human birth, but you forget what you must do. You do not even know,
do not even understand what you need. Because we forget the Lord, we keep
getting born in this material world. How can we get out of it now?'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [PART 1]
Gurudev's
Appearance
"Today is 1 January, the first day of the year, and this is the day of my
Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami
Maharaj's appearance. Choosing this holy dvitiya tithi day, Gurudev
appeared in this world 92 years ago."
(15) SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU’S MOOD OF DEVOTION
'Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not write many verses or give many
instructions. He simply gave the gist of all instructions in His
Siksastakam. There is no way to proceed in our spiritual life or in
our chanting of the Lord’s Holy Names without following the directives of Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu given in His Siksastakam. Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam is our life and soul. We will try until death
to proceed according to its instructions and we must be benefitted to the
utmost by that.'
Wed, 9 July 2025
Mixing in
Adulteration
'Always keep these things tight in your hearts. Never forgot about it. When
outside people come and sing kirtans, you can enjoy the pleasant
poetry, and it can stir some emotions in you, it can give pleasure to your
minds or hearts – but it can never bring any genuine benefit or
auspiciousness to you.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [PART 2]
Gurudev's
Coming to the Temple
"One day, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's preaching party came to
Nadanghat on their way back from preaching. They did collection during the
day, and in the evening they would give a class and chant kirtans at
the house of some zamindar. When they came to Nadanghat, Gurudev came and sat
at the programme, listening to the Hari-katha."
(16) SERVING UNDER PROPER GUIDANCE
'We cannot see Krishna’s divine form or hear His Divine Name. If we try to go
to Krishna directly, overstepping the sadhu, we will never see
Krishna’s real form. We will only go down into the garbage of illusion again
and again. It is necessary to understand what the Holy Name of Krishna is,
and what it is not, if we actually want to chant the Holy Name. From our
mundane position we do not understand Krishna, but He can reveal Himself in
our hearts if we try to connect with Him with love, affection, chastity, and
sincerity through the proper channel of His devotee.'
Thu, 10 July 2025 (Sri Guru Purnima)
Wholesome Life
'Do you dream of going to heaven? Do you think that you can do something good
in this world and after that go to heaven? Our lives are neither about
rejecting Krishna's things or enjoying Krishna's things out of ego – our
lives are about taking Krishna's things and using them in His service.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Purnima. Sri Guru Purnima.Appearance of
Srila Vyasadev. Disappearance of Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu.Beginning of Chaturmasya Vrata.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
"Wake up, look into the calendar and give 'jay' to your Guru and
Vaishnavs. Always pay obeisance to your Guru and Vaishnavs when you wake up
in the morning, always give them 'jay'. Always keep faith and show
respect to them. Always see the calendar—whose appearance day it is, whose
disappearance day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival, at least you can
give them 'jay', it will bring you benefit. When you give 'jay'
to your Guru and Vaishnavs, it brings you sukriti. For example, today
is the disappearance day of a Vaishnav—give 'jay' to him, remember
him. We must always remember the words of Vaishnavs. If I remember the words
of Vaishnavs, I get some benefit, some deposit through that."
In honour of
Sri Chaturmasya-vrata:
Chaturmasya
"Chaturmasya is good, but chaturmasya does not mean you must
keep a beard, grow long hair and not eat something, but secretly do nonsense.
This life is not for enjoyment only. You must be always careful with the
food..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.1 Mb, 4 min | 1 July 2012)
In honour of Srila
Vyasadev:
"You have heard of the Upanisads, Vedas, Vedanta, and the other
scriptures which were revealed in India in written form five thousand years
ago. Previously, this knowledge existed as sruti-mantram, spoken
words, and it was transmitted by rsis and munis to their
disciples through sruti-mantram. At that time there were no books.
Vedavyas has very mercifully given us the written form of
sruti-mantram: the Veda. He divided the Veda (sruti)
into four parts: Rg, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva. He also composed
the supplementary literatures (smrti) like the Mahabharata, which is
called the fifth Veda. The gist of the Vedas can also be found
in the hundreds of Upanisads he wrote. The great rsis, Vedic
research scholars, have also presented the Vedic knowledge in the
Puranas. Thus, through the great rsis, this transcendental
knowledge is being revealed in this mundane world, and when necessary, from
time to time, an incarnation of the Lord manifests by whose divine mercy we
get a connection with that transcendental knowledge.
"These Vedic literatures mainly try to give us transcendental knowledge, and
for our benefit they have proclaimed, "Srnvantu visve amrtasya putra:
you are all the sons of nectar, transcendental nectar; you are from the
nectarean ocean. Dive deep into that nectar!" We are all parts and parcels of
the Lord, therefore we are spiritual relatives."
(Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj,
Original Source)
namo 'stu te vyasa-visala-buddhe
phullaravindayata-patra-netra
yena tvaya bharata-taila-purnah
prajvalito jnana-mayah pradipah
Obeisances unto Srila Vyasadeva—
O Srila Vyasadeva of formidable intelligence, whose eyes resemble the long
petals of the blooming lotus flower, and who ignited the lamp of knowledge,
filled with the oil of the Mahabharata—I offer my obeisances unto
you.
The Greatest Gift of
Sri Vedavyas A wonderful extensive talk by Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami
Maharaj describing the holy appearance of Srimad Bhagavatam:
"Srimad Bhagavatam is the oldest and finest book of Krishna
consciousness. Vedavyas had composed all the scriptures, but he still did not
feel happiness in his heart. He started searching what had happened..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (17.7 Mb, 43 min | 17 June 1992)
In honour of
Sri Guru Purnima:
Sri Bhakti
Siddhanta Vani
A quote of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad that is much
appreaciated by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj and is
framed and hung in many of the temples: "If someone does not consider it
necessary to faithfully follow their Guru and the Vaishnavs, their endeavour
to serve the Lord is not service to the Lord—it is service to
maya."
Sri
Guru-Tattva: The Captain of Your Boat
"If you serve your Guru properly, if you have devotion to the Guru, then you
will be able to remove the bondage with the modes of material nature, and
through that relationship with your Guru you can get service to the Lord and
finally reach your destination."
•
Download / listen to the audio (8 Mb, 24 min | 22 July 2013 | Mostly
Bengali)
Sri Guru Purnima:
Remembrance Day
"Today is a very good and auspicious day, the day of Sri Guru Purnima. On
this day, we can pray to our Gurudev that he may engage us in service more
and more, so that we could progress in our spiritual life, so that we could
submit ourselves to him as a devotee."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.4 Mb, 8 min | 5 July 2020)
Sri Guru Purnima
Address
"My body is here, but my heart, my mind, my everything is with you. I am
always thinking about you, I am always thinking about your good, how you can
become better and better, how you can run the mission more and more
successfully. Any service I can help you with, I will always try to do it,
and I will try my best. That is my promise on this Guru Purnima day."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.4 Mb, 11 min | 5 July 2020)
Will-O'-the-Wisp of
Worldly Wishes
"If you give Maya chance, then Maya will attack you. As soon as you get a
weak spot, Maya will attack you. It does not matter whether you are young or
old. If you try to control your elements, you can control them
from a young age."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.1 Mb, 10 min | 5 July 2020)
Eternal Priorities
"You cannot follow all the very strict rules that the six goswamis
followed properly in Vrindavan. So, think only about doing your service
properly, about practising properly, about avoiding bad association
properly—give much importance to all this."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.9 Mb, 7 min | 5 July 2020)
Key to Guru Puja
"Gurudev had explained and taught me that when you make a festival not much
is necessary—a festival means Vaishnav seva, bhakta-seva.
Guru-seva is not engaging your Guru in service—it means serving your
Guru, serving his devotees."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.6 Mb, 7 min | 9 October 2018 | Bengali)
Sri Guru's
Forgiving Mercy
"Gurudev is always merciful. I can give you an example of how merciful
Gurudev is, I can tell you one story. Disciples always do wrong, but Gurudev
is always merciful..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.4 Mb, 7 min | June 2010)
Part 1:
How to See the Guru: Mercy
Clear guidance on how to understand who the Guru is, and how a sincere
disciple should see the Guru: the Guru is not only a mahabhagavata (a great
devotee), he is nondifferent from Krishna Himself.
•
Download / listen to the audio (6.4 Mb, 14 min | 25 September 2014)
Part 2:
How to See the Guru: Chastity
The main quality of a sincere disciple explained by several examples:
one-pointed attention, rejecting the unfavourable, intense attachment to
service and devotees, faith, and careful choice of association.
•
Download / listen to the audio (7 Mb, 15 min | 25 September 2014)
Sri Guru and His
Grace
His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj has been recently
repeatedly stressing the importance of reading this holy book,
recalling many examples and guidenlines found therein. Presented here
in English for online reading, and in Bengali and English for
downloading.
Sri
Sanatan-Siksa
The first lecture in the cycle of lectures given by His Divine Grace Srila
B.N. Acharya Maharaj in 2015, dedicated to the teachings of Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu and Srila Sanatan Goswami
Prabhu.
Sri
Rupa-Sanatan Siksa(EPUB file, 0.5 Mb)
"Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita: Sri Rupa-Satana Siksa, read and expounded by His
Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj." An electronic
version of the published previously online matter available now for download,
reading and worshipping on phones, tablets, eBook readers, etc.
•SONG:
Sri Sad-Goswamy-Astakam |
শ্রীশ্রীষড়্গোস্বাম্যষ্টকম্ "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Goswamis, namely Sri
Rupa Goswami, Sri Sanatan Goswami, Sri Raghunath Bhatta Goswami, Sri
Raghunath Das Goswami, Sri Jiva Goswami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami, who
are always engaged in chanting the Holy Name of Krishna and dancing. They are
just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle
and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they
do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord
Chaitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionary activities meant to deliver
all the conditioned souls in the material universe."
•SONG:
Ei-bara karuna kara |
এইবার করুণা কর "O worshippable Vaisnava, be merciful to me this time. O saviour of the
fallen, without you there is no one. In every birth I aspire for the dust of
your feet."
•SONG:
Ohe Vaisnava
Thakura |
(ওহে) বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর "O worshippable Vaishnav, ocean of grace, be merciful to this servant.
Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp your feet. You can give
Krishna, you have that power. Calling, 'Krishna!' 'Krishna!', I run after
you."
•SONG:
Ki-rupe paiba seva |
কিরূপে পাইব সেবা "I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! Prabhu, you see no fault in others, you are the saviour of the fallen. Please deliver Narottam this time!"
•SONG:
Dhana mora nityananda |
ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs'
name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of
Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."
•SONG:
Ye
anila prema-dhana |
যে আনিল প্রেমধন "Where has Advaita Acharya gone? Where are my Svarup, Rupa, Sanatan? Where
is my Raghunath? Where are the saviours of the fallen souls?"
Fri, 11 July 2025
Devoured by
Darkness
'There are people who serve the Lord (such people are called devotees of the
Lord). At the same time, in this material world, there are also other people
who cannot serve the Lord. What is the reason?'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [PART 3]
Perfect
Adherence
"Within seven days after Guru Maharaj's coming to the temple, Srila Sridhar
Maharaj told him, 'Do not follow what your mind tells you. You must do only
what I tell you. Never do what your mind tells you to do.' Remember
this."
(17) RECOGNISING DEVOTION
'If we chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra with the qualities of
humility, tolerance, and giving honour to others, we will certainly get a
proper result. Mahaprabhu promised this to us, and even Krishna will not be
able to check our result because our result will come to us through His
devotee’s devotee. Humility, tolerance, and the offering of respect are the
essential qualities of a devotee. Everyone must maintain those qualities in
their devotional lives. If anyone is successful in practising Mahaprabhu’s
procedure, then they will be very, very close to liberation, and after
liberation they will see and feel how everything is transcendental and all
right, by the will of the Lord.'
Sat, 12 July 2025
Spiritual
Power
'Chant the Holy Names of Nitai-Chaitanya, and your material bondage will be
removed – you will get taste for chanting the Holy Name of Lord Krishna, and
then your life will be easily successful! Do you understand the process? You
must always remember this.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [PART 4]
Who Is Guru?
"The guru is one into whom the Lord has invested all His power. Once
you get the mercy of the guru, you will get all mercy. If Krishna
bestows His mercy on any fortunate soul, then the guru teaches that
soul everything in his omniscient (antaryami) form."
(18) INCONCEIVABLE GLORY
'From our mundane position we cannot gauge or feel the nature of Vrindavan.
If we try to feel that abode from here, what we feel will be mundane. It is
not necessary for us to discuss the matters of the transcendental world so
much. That abode is not revealed through lectures or reading actually. It is
revealed through dedication, devotion, determination, and divine grace. When
one is fully enriched with those qualities, one will get everything
automatically.'
Today in the calendar:
Disappearance of Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj (a diksa and
sannyas disciple of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad, the
first Gaudiya Math preacher in the West).
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day."
In honour of Sripad Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj:
Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj remembers:
When I got sannyas, Sripad Bon Maharaj was present there, as well as many
others also. Sripad Bon Maharaj remarked, "Prabhupad has got a high
satisfaction by giving you sannyas. We have never seen so much satisfaction
in him at the occasion of any other sannyasi. He is highly satisfied with
conferring sannyas to you."
....When Sripad Bon Maharaj returned from England, he put so many disturbing
questions to our Guru Maharaj (Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur
Prabhupad), "What do you know about that country? They are so brave, so
gorgeous! Staying here, we cannot have any proper estimation of the
civilisation in London at present. We are all ignorant. If we are to preach
in London or Europe, we will have to be trained in a different way!" That was
his advice to our Guru Maharaj, and Guru Maharaj, being pressed, rather
attacked by his own disciple in such a way, withdrew himself by saying, "This
is not our way of thinking. Our Guru Maharaj, Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji
Maharaj, did not even know how to sign his name, but we think that all the
scholarship, wealth, everything is there in a nail of his toe." Guru Maharaj
represented himself in a mild and humble way, but there was also professor
Sanyal present there, and he came out like a tiger at our Bon Maharaj, "Have
you lost all you have got from Guru Maharaj?! You are bold enough to talk in
such a boisterous way? Have you forgotten how to behave with your Divine
Master?" He was furious; Bon Maharaj had to check himself. Anyhow, Prabhupad
said about him, "Bon Maharaj went to preach in my first year in
England and in my second year in England." Prabhupad had gone through
it using Bon Maharaj.
So, when I heard that Sripad Bon Maharaj had returned from Europe and put
forth so many arguments of the Western persons saying that they could not be
answered, I wanted to hear what those questions were that could not be
answered. He reluctantly spoke about the arguments he had had to face there,
and I began to answer them one by one. Then, when Sripad Bon Maharaj could
not say anything more, Srila Swami Maharaj [Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Maharaj], who was present at that round table meeting, said, "Here, Europe is
defeated by Asia!"
* * *
...At that time, all the preachers had been taken back from the compass of
the country and were concentrated to work in Kolkata—they used to have to go
door to door collecting bhiksa (alms, donations). Sripad Bon Maharaj's
party, he and one or two brahmacharis, went to some part of Kolkata for
collection. Generally, seeing some gentleman standing by, one of the members
of the party would run up to him and say something like, "We come from
Gaudiya Math, we want to make some collection. Dear sir, you are a devoted
person of this locality, please make some contribution." So, one time, Bon
Maharaj asked some gentleman to give him some addresses of good benevolent
gentlemen whom they could approach to get some money for their purpose. The
gentleman showed Bon Maharaj the way saying, "Just go to that house, you will
find the right person there." Bon Maharaj went there in good faith. When he
knocked on the door, the door was open. A lady came out. Seeing him, she
said, "Oh, you are a sadhu! What do you want from me?" The gentleman who had
directed Bon Maharaj there, was laughing behind him—the lady was a
prostitute. Bon Maharaj was perplexed—it was a lady. Anyhow, he still gave
her the letter of invitation saying, "We have got such and such festival, we
want you to come and we want to ask you for some contribution." I do not know
if the lady had given him anything or not, but all the people around were
laughing. After that, Bon Maharaj came back to Prabhupad and said,
"Prabhupad, I will not go for any collection again." Prabhupad asked him,
"Why? What has happened?" Bon Maharaj related the incident saying that some
rogues had guided him to a prostitute's house. After that, Prabhupad
delivered a lecture: "There are many of you who have left their own property,
but still I send you out for collection. Do you think that I am doing wrong?
I am not. The visayi (materialists) always want to entrap us within their
material life, but we must learn to utilise everything and anything in the
service of Krishna, then only are we saved; otherwise, if we leave, give
everything away, all this visaya (material elements) will be left there and
as soon as it gets any chance, it will come to bite me. So, whatever comes to
us, we should deal with everything in such a way that rather, 'Whatever I
shall come across, it will give me some impression to remember
Krishna—everything should utilise me for a particular service to Krishna.' If
left there, they will be enemies, but they should all be turned into friends.
They will help me, remind me, excite me in the service of Krishna. We must
have this kind of adjustment in this world. So, nothing should be left off.
'Nirbandhah Krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam uchyate: when one is not
attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to
Krishna, one is rightly situated above possessiveness.'"
Prayers to Sri Vaishnav Thakur:
•SONG:
Ei-bara karuna kara |
এইবার করুণা কর "O worshippable Vaisnava, be merciful to me this time. O saviour of the
fallen, without you there is no one. In every birth I aspire for the dust of
your feet."
•SONG:
Ohe Vaisnava
Thakura |
(ওহে) বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর "O worshippable Vaishnav, ocean of grace, be merciful to this servant.
Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp your feet. You can give
Krishna, you have that power. Calling, 'Krishna!' 'Krishna!', I run after
you."
•SONG:
Ki-rupe paiba seva |
কিরূপে পাইব সেবা "I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment
to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! Prabhu, you see no fault in others, you are the
saviour of the fallen. Please deliver Narottam this time!"
•SONG:
Dhana mora nityananda |
ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs'
name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of
Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."
•SONG:
Ye
anila prema-dhana |
যে আনিল প্রেমধন "Where has Advaita Acharya gone? Where are my Svarup, Rupa, Sanatan? Where
is my Raghunath? Where are the saviours of the fallen souls?"
Sun, 13 July 2025
Depths of
Devotion
'If we truly have attachment and affection, faith and devotion, towards the
holy lotus feet of our Gurupadpadma, then we will never have to face anything
inauspicious in our lives. If we can leave our bodies always thinking about
the Lord, always chanting the Lord's Names, then it will be arranged for us
to come to the holy abode of the Lord in Goloka Vrindavan.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [PART 5]
Sri Guru
Tattva
"Souls wander throughout this universe, but if some fortunate souls take by
Krishna's mercy the seed of devotion from Gurudev and practises Krishna
consciousness, they can reach the Lord's abode! Do you understand what I am
saying?"
(19) THE NEXT EDITION OF RADHA-KRISHNA’S PASTIMES
'Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, but He has now become the
divine form of Radha and Krishna combined to taste Radharani’s
Krishna-prema. Radharani and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are actually
nondifferent. Mahaprabhu appeared to taste the divine ecstasy of
Krishna-prema in the way that Radharani tastes it and to see the way
how She gives Krishna super joy and ecstasy through Her love, affection,
charm, beauty, and so on. That is the hidden purpose of Krishna’s appearance
as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.'
Mon, 14 July 2025
Guard Your
Spiritual Purity
'When we are in the association of devotees or when we remember devotees,
then we can remember the Lord – thoughts about the Lord will be coming to our
minds and hearts. The problem is that many of us think that we have become
Vaishnavs...'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [PART 6]
Guru's
Greed, Disciple's Greed
"These are desires or your tongue and mind! The souls never wants all this,
but we are so greedy that we think that our mind and our soul are one and the
same. People do not understand what is mind and what is the soul..."
(20) THE FINEST CONCEPTION
'We need transcendental ecstasy. We do not want sadness, sorrow, or
inauspiciousness. We always need the opposite. We need something eternal,
glorious, and beautiful. There is only one way to get that: through
hankering. Hankering gives us the real property in our spiritual lives. If I
have hankering for Krishna-prema then I must search, “Where is
Krishna-prema?” It is very rare, but if I find anyone who has
Krishna-prema in their heart, I must try to get his association.
Through that person I can understand what Krishna-prema is, how much I
need it, how much I will be satisfied by it, and so on.'
Tue, 15 July 2025 (Disappearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami
Prabhu)
Focus on
Lord's Happiness
'We come to the temple and instead of thinking about it as a place for
service, we thinking that a temple is a place for our enjoyment.
Gurudev makes a temple, and we take it as an object of enjoyment.
Hari-seva (service to the Lord) means Hari-bhoga (supplying
enjoyment to the Lord), not Hari-bhogi (using the Lord for your own
enjoyment).'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [PART 7]
Deceivers and
Deceived
"If somebody lives in enjoyment, is foolish (ignorant of what one's duty is
and what must not do) and lives following any other path except pure
devotion, then even if this person is called a guru (in name only), it is the
order of the scriptures that he must be given up."
APPENDIX: DASA-VIDHA NAMAPARADHA
'The Harinam maha-mantra is the best of all mantras and is
distributed throughout the world by the mercy of the sadhus devoted to the
Name. Never criticise such great souls.'
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
'Srila Govinda Maharaj created the atmosphere of Vraja Dham wherever he went.
His seemingly simple, yet deeply loving and profound personality can only be
understood as a manifestation of the aprakrta realm. His seniors,
peers, and followers all marvelled at the beauty of his form and the
sweetness and strength he exhibited as he related naturally and intimately
with all. His captivating affection awakened the dormant spirit of devotion
from within the hearts of thousands and forcibly inspired them to dedicate
their lives to the service of Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga.'
Today in the calendar:
Krishna Panchami. Disappearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami
Prabhu.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
"Wake up, look into the calendar and give 'jay' to your Guru and
Vaishnavs. Always pay obeisance to your Guru and Vaishnavs when you wake up
in the morning, always give them 'jay'. Always keep faith and show
respect to them. Always see the calendar—whose appearance day it is, whose
disappearance day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival, at least you can
give them 'jay', it will bring you benefit. When you give 'jay'
to your Guru and Vaishnavs, it brings you sukriti. For example, today
is the disappearance day of a Vaishnav—give 'jay' to him, remember
him. We must always remember the words of Vaishnavs. If I remember the words
of Vaishnavs, I get some benefit, some deposit through that."
In honour of Srila Gopal Bhatta
Goswamipad:
Srila Gopal
Bhatta Goswami's Miracle
"You have heard about the Deity of Sri Radha-Raman in Vrindavan. When Gopal
Bhatta Goswami lived in Vrindavan, he every day worshipped twelve pieces of
Govardhan sila..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 3 min | 7 September 2013 | Bengali)
Strongest
Faith (2) Gopal Bhatta Goswami
"You have eyes in your heart, and if you have such feeling towards the Deity
in your heart and do your service with such faith, then you can easily see
Krishna everywhere, hear Krishna-nama everywhere, nothing else besides
Krishna-nama will enter your ears..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.3 Mb, 4 min | 10 March 2015)
Wed, 16 July 2025
Pure
Devotees' Pure Hankering
'What is the purpose of this body? What do highest devotees hanker for? Why
do we see others' faults? How can one live in Mathura? What is the difference
between a Vaishnav and a brahman? What happens if I listen to non-devotional
talks? What does a show of service mean?'
•
Download / listen to the audio (37 Mb, 76 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 1]
Satiating
Hunger
"We have no attachment or love for what the great souls say. We only want
food! What is the need to come to the temple for that? If you want to come to
the temple for the benefit of your soul, then you can come, but do not come
as a beggar for food – come as a beggar for spiritual life! Always remember
this."
(1) YOU ARE SONS OF NECTAR
'You are all my spiritual relatives, assembled here today for hearing
something from me about Krishna consciousness. I humbly pay my respects to
you all because you have given me this opportunity to speak about my Lord Sri
Krishna and His associates. I want to do good for you, good for myself, and
good for the world.'
Thu, 17 July 2025
Our
Predicament
'We came empty-handed and we will leave empty-handed – we cannot take
anything with us. Then why be so attached? Why do you have to sit amidst all
this material stool? I come here every year, and you think that I come for
your rice, dal, money or potato. This is what you think, but this is
not why I come. I come here so that you all can practise Krishna
consciousness.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 2]
Srila
Gurudev's Pastimes (1)
"As you know, my Gurupadpadma came to the Math in 1947. They asked him, 'Will
you come to the Math with us?' Gurudev said, 'Yes, I will come.' 'Will you go
today?' 'Yes, I will go today itself!' Then, crossing across the river at
Nagan Ghat, Gurudev came to this Math on the day of Nrisingha-chaturdasi.
This was the first day he entered the temple."
(2) THE PROCESS OF A REAL SEARCH
'Where you live now is a hellish situation, but God is so merciful, He is
giving so much love to you. His loving search for the lost servant is our
wealth, not the wealth of God. His Loving search for His lost servant is our
property. But I must keep faith in my religion, otherwise how shall I get it?
It is impossible. In all the religions the basis is faith.'
Fri, 18 July 2025
Life Worth
Living?
'How many families we have had before! But all that is of no use – you only
end up with garbage in your life. Days are passing as we are so busy with our
lives, but what kind of life is this? It is all a sham! The problem is only
one...'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 3]
Srila
Gurudev's Pastimes (2)
"Do you want to hear how Gurudev protected and looked after the temple? There
are many naughty people in Kolerdanga, but Gurudev had such a tight grip on
them that when he would come down from upstairs, people saw him and...."
(3) THE ETERNAL PLAY
'You are your own best friend and your own worst enemy. You cannot conceive
how much bad and how much good you can do for yourself. All power is in your
hand. Try to play properly and you must get the result. The football always
goes to the feet of those who can play properly, and others who run after the
football can’t get it. So, try to search properly, sincerely. You will get a
good result, and your life will be extremely benefitted.'
Today in the calendar:
Krishna Astami. Disappearance of Srila Lokanath Goswami Prabhu.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
"Wake up, look into the calendar and give 'jay' to your Guru and
Vaishnavs. Always pay obeisance to your Guru and Vaishnavs when you wake up
in the morning, always give them 'jay'. Always keep faith and show
respect to them. Always see the calendar—whose appearance day it is, whose
disappearance day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival, at least you can
give them 'jay', it will bring you benefit. When you give 'jay'
to your Guru and Vaishnavs, it brings you sukriti. For example, today
is the disappearance day of a Vaishnav—give 'jay' to him, remember
him. We must always remember the words of Vaishnavs. If I remember the words
of Vaishnavs, I get some benefit, some deposit through that."
In honour of Srila Lokanath
Goswami Prabhu:
In Praise of Srila Narottam Das Thakur
In this chapter of Affectional Guidance, His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj is describing the meeting of
Srila Narottam Das Thakur with his Guru, Srila Lokanath Goswami.
Simple
Service, Earnest Heart
"It is necessary to have the strongest faith. You cannot see everything with
your eyes. We will serve Mahaprabhu, devotees, our Guru, and whether they
accept it or not, that is up to them. Simple things are sufficient for
us."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.4 Mb, 8 min | 12 July 2020)
Overpowered by
Service
"You may have everything, but if you do not have mercy of your Guru, then you
have nothing. Gurudev gave you all his blessings, and if we can serve him, we
will get supreme benefit. You must always live remembering Gurudev's
words."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.1 Mb, 12 min | 8 April 2017 |
Bengali)
Sat, 19 July 2025
Grow Up
'Waving some incense and ringing the bell in front of a Deity is not
devotion. Devotion means that you spend every single day of your lives in the
association of devotees, engaging yourselves in sravan and kirtan. Small
children do not understand anything, but you are all adults now, you have
some intelligence, and still you cannot understand the main basic
things.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 4]
Srila
Gurudev's Pastimes (3)
"When we offer arati to the Lord, we offer the pancha-pradip
lamp and other items, and we always clean those items; in the same way,
Gurudev takes us, cleans and polishes us and then uses for the Lord's
service."
Mahaprabhu's Directives
"Mahaprabhu has given three directives to us. He did not compose so many
slokas. He could compose it, it was within Mahaprabhu's capacity,
but He did not do it. He has only given us some directives to show us the
direction, and He has given only one sloka for our direction. These
three directives will give us life—through these three directives we will get
a real spiritual life."
Sun, 20 July 2025
Relief from
Burden
'You have been toiling all your lives like asses. You know, donkeys carry
sacks of sugar day and night, and when they taste that sugar, they do not
even feel its taste – they cannot feel anything. We are like that, too. We
carry around the burden of our material lives, and we cannot understand what
peace and happiness are. We always want more, more and more.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 5]
Srila
Gurudev's Pastimes (4)
"Many of you are older than me, and you have seen there was a big flood in
1978, and there was an even a greater flood in 2000. I had not come to the
temple in 1978, so I did not see that flood, but I heard at that time there
was no boundary wall at the temple..."
Curb Your
Curiosity
"We do not know how many more years we will be in this mundane world, maybe a
few years, maybe not, but we have some prospect, and if we try our best to
practise Krishna consciousness – to follow the conception of Sril Guru
Maharaj – then we must be benefitted: maybe after one day, maybe after five
days or maybe after five or ten years; but if we try our best, it is
good."
All Glory to Sri Sri Guru Gauranga
Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Disappearance Festival
Dear respected Devotees, Friends and Well-Wishers,
We are offering obeisance at your holy lotus feet and humbly extend a letter
of encouragement to observe the disappearance day of the most worshippable
Founder Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila
Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, which manifests on 24 July
(Thursday) this year and will be observed in every branch of Sri Chaitanya
Saraswat Math throughout the world.
Our beloved Sri Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
has many times instructed on how
to hold special programmes and taught it many times by his own example.
Usually such programmes consist of: kirtans, lecture or reading of
scriptures, arati, pushpanjali (offering of flowers to a photograph), and
prasad-seva (cooking a special offering, offering it at the altar or to a
photograph and distributing it to devotees).
We hope all devotees find an opportunity to observe this holy day for the
satisfaction of Sri Gurupadpadma keeping the divine Guidance on their heads:
"Always sit amidst fire blazing on all four sides. This fire is Hari-katha,
kirtan, service to the Lord, and service to the guru. You must progress in
your practising life keeping the sacrificial fire of your service
ablaze."
Make the
Festival, with Heart and Soul
"I am telling to everyone who is staying in the temple, to every centre: you
must make a festival for Srila Sridhar Maharaj. If you want to show that you
want to serve Srila Sridhar Maharaj, then make a good festival on this
day."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min)
Some preparations and items that are known to be favourite to His Divine
Grace Srila Sridhar Maharaj include: natural orange juice (with just a little
sugar), cholar dahl (split chickpea dal) or kolai dal (urad dal), alu bhaji
(deep-fried potato chips), sukta, muri, puri/luchi with alu bhaja, aloo dum,
samosa, pineapple chutney (anaraser chutney), puspanna, figs (dumur), chaunsa
mango.
Mon, 21 July 2025 (Sri Kamika Ekadasi)
Wrecked
Intelligence
'We always think about our bodies, the bodies that one day will fall dead and
be burnt – we do so many things for these bodies. We always worry about our
bodies: How can I keep my body healthy and fit? How can I keep my body happy?
Why are we like that? Because our intelligence is wrecked.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 6]
Srila
Gurudev's Pastimes (5)
"Srila Gurudev travelled all over the world and established temples in more
than 130 places: he went on world tours twenty-four times, visiting over a
hundred countries in total...."
THE ALL-AUSPICIOUS NAME OF SRI CHAITANYA SARASWAT MATH
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami
Maharaj, the founder of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, expounds on the
profundity of the Mission's name.
EXCLUSIVE CONCEPTION OF SRILA PRABHUPAD'S LINE
'Our Prabhupad did not allow these things. Do your duty on your plane, and
what you deserve will come to you naturally. That was his instruction all
through, not only temporarily but all through. Do not go to be a disbeliever,
very eager to see the final result; otherwise, you will get Maya instead of
Yogamaya.'
JOURNEY FROM MISGUIDANCE TO ABSOLUTE GUIDANCE
"It is possible to connect with Him only through surrender, and it will be He
who will decide how He will best suit you. Let Him decide it. 'Hare Krishna'
is not a prayer for anything; it is only an address, 'O Hare Krishna, I want
You. You please consider and decide what will suit me. I only want you. I am
in danger, and I want Your protection; how you will protect me is to be
decided by You, it is not my business.' By embracing His consideration is
where we gain the most. We must only try to increase, if possible, the degree
of our surrender. That is what is actually necessary from us."
Sri Ekadasi Guidance Guidelines on how to observe and honour this holy day: Ekadasi takes an
indispensible part in the life of a sincere practitioner. At Sri Chaitanya
Saraswat Math, Ekadasi and paran are observed with affection and without
fail according to the dates given in the Calendar.
Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj about fasting on ekadasi and
accepting material facilities:
"One time, a devotee came here from Vrindavan on the day of
ekadasi. He reached in the evening and, after taking bath in the
Ganges, attended kirtans, danced, circumambulated the temple and so
on. Then, I asked him whether he would take any anukalpa. He replied,
'Generally, I do not take anything, but if you like, then, of course, I must
take anukalpa. Your will is greater than my fasting.' That was his
decision.
"My Guru Maharaj (Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur)
always wanted maximum energy: you should take good food and do good service.
That was his maxim. Krishna is not a liquidated party: take full
prasadam and do full service. Do maximum service, and you should take
whatever is necessary for that. You are to take it for the cause of Krishna,
not for your own cause. You are Krishna's, so if you grow weak, His service
will be hampered, and both you and Krishna will be losers thereby. 'My
soldiers will be well-fed and well-working.' That was our Guru Maharaj's
principle. Napoleon said, 'One full-fed soldier is equal to ten half-fed
soldiers.'
"So, prasad-seva: if it is service, then it must be taken in a
serving mood, of course. But, at the same time, the individual position of a
devotee should be taken into consideration. Sahajiyas do not Fast on
ekadasi at all: 'Oh, we are in Vrindavan, and there is no fasting in
Vrindavan.' But Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Prabhupad did not like that –
it is sahajiya (imitation) if you go on feeding your senses in the
name of Krishna-bhakti (devotion to the Lord). For the service to Krishna, it
is necessary to keep up the body and to provide nourishment to it, so we must
take what is necessary for service. We do not like it if by fasting a loss of
energy is effected. If fasting does not hamper your service, you may go on
fasting – perhaps, your gurudev wanted that...
"For service, I must accept what is necessary to make me physically
fit so that I can render more service. So, accepting material things is not
objectionable. It is fruitful, not detrimental. Rather, it produces something
of a pure character, which helps everyone. This is how a disciple receives
and accepts things. At that same time, he may even blame himself, 'I cannot
go on with my worldly life without the help of this or that!' He will blame
himself, but the underlying spirit must be, 'If I do not take it, I shall be
unfit; I will not be able to do my bit of service to the Lord, to my
gurudev.'
"Moreover, by taking up renunciation, I will be a loser. I will incur
a loss for myself, for the world, and my guru's service will be
hampered. In this spirit, devotees are to take everything. For the cause of
Krishna, for the cause of their guru, they will accept anything.
"Suppose there is a very miserly karmachari (manager). Because
he does not want to spend money, he may not attain a particular result; then,
some difficulty comes, and the opportunity is lost. This manager will be held
responsible by the proprietor: 'Why did you not spend money? Why are you
afraid of spending money from my store? Because of your miserly habit, the
opportunity has been lost! Why should you not spend My money for My
interest?' So, to render service to Krishna, to my gurudev, to
Vaishnavs, to the world, to everyone, I must keep up this mundane body, and I
am entitled to take something for that.
"Miserliness is mayavada; it is the renunciation spirit, and it
will mar Krishna's interest. What we need is yukta-vairagya: I shall
take from the store of Krishna to keep myself fit and to do service. It is
Krishna's account, and if I do not do that, I should be a separatist, a
mayavadi, a renunciationist. I shall render maximum service to
Krishna, and I must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary to make
myself fit for the service; otherwise, I shall be punishable."
•"Sri
Ekadasi"
(Sri Sri Prema Vivarta)
"One day, Gaurahari left the Gundicha Temple and sat in the Jagannath
Vallabha garden. It was pure Ekadasi, and the Lord spent the whole day and
night chanting the Name of Krishna..."
•SONG:
Suddha-bhakata |
শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু "I carefully observe the holy days related to Madhava, they are the mother
of devotion."
•SONG:
Sri hari-vasare |
শ্রীহরি-বাসরে হরি "On the holy day of Sri Hari, Sriman Mahaprabhu, the life and
soul of the universe, began dancing..."
"You do not need to know the meaning of each ekadasi tithi because if
you know it, you will want to get this result, that result, etc."
(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
Tue, 22 July 2025
Misdirected
Love
'We are worrying so much about these bodies – we rub them with oil, we always
fend off mosquitoes to make sure they do not bite us; but in the end, these
bodies will be thrown away at the crematorium. This is what happens to our
bodies in the end, but we live in servile submission to these bodies...'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 7]
Srila
Gurudev's Pastimes (6)
"I remember Sripad Bhakti Kumud Shanta Goswami Maharaj told a very nice story
about the guru and disciples. These days, the situation everywhere is
actually like in that story…"
LIFE BEYOND RENUNCIATION
'The highest law is that you must not leave anything but try to utilise
everything for His service. You are a servant. You are to serve, and there
are many objects through which you are to serve. It is abnormal to try to
exploit or enjoy a particular thing or to cast it off hatefully thinking that
it will harm me. Both are artificial.'
MAYA'S TEST Question: When we start chanting the
maha-mantra Hare Krishna, it seems that in the beginning we get more
realisation, more of the mantra, whereas as time goes it seems more
and more difficult. Many devotees have mentioned that they have this feeling
that it becomes more difficult. Why does this happen?
OVERTHROWING ANARTHAS
"After a great fight, they will have to retire if during this time you have
good association (it can be the association of sadhus or books,
anyhow). Devotional practices must not be given up or slackened; rather, you
will follow the system of practices with even more attention. And, gradually,
one day you will find that, through this fight, all those things are
retiring: the enemies have accepted their defeat and gone away."
Wed, 23 July 2025 (Adhivas of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami
Maharaj's Tirobhav-Tithi)
Devotion
Comes from Devotion
'Whenever you worship the Lord at home, Goloka manifests itself there.
Worshipping the Lord means service. This is the only way we can rescue
ourselves from this material world. Intelligent people leave all illusory
charm and always think about the Lord.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
Be Courageous[By Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj]
"We must not be disappointed. We must have courage. We must face everything
courageously and well-meaning in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Srimad
Bhagavatam comes to teach us to face any danger, any adverse circumstance
with this spirit. This should be our real spirit when facing trouble, then we
will get relief very soon, we will not have to wait long."
Смелее![Из уст Шрилы Б.Р. Шридхара Дева-Госвами Махараджа]
«Мы не должны разочаровываться. Мы должны быть смелыми. Мы должны относиться
ко всему и справляться со всем мужественно, с благими намерениями в мыслях,
словах и поступках. „Шримад Бхагаватам“ приходит к нам, чтобы научить нас
тому, что мы должны смотреть в лицо всем опасностям и неблагоприятным
обстоятельствам с таким настроем. Таким должен быть наш искренний настрой,
когда мы сталкиваемся с бедами, и тогда нас очень скоро ждёт облегчение, нам
не придётся долго ждать».
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [NOON | PART 8]
Come as a
Beggar
"Anyhow, much has been said today. I would like to read one article written
by Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Actually, no matter how
many times I tell about it, it does not help... You must all listen to what
Srila Prabhupad says."
RENUNCIATION OF RENUNCIATION
"To abnegate and cut off our connection with the environment is not our
object. Our object is, rather, to utilise everything for the service of the
Lord. Why should we eliminate anything? Why should we disregard anything? We
must not denounce, reject or dishonour things. We must use them properly,
with reverence, then they will draw benefit from me and bring benefit for me.
Environment can help me earn more, then why should I reject my environment
and all its paraphernalia? Rather, they should excite me."
SCOPE OF
SACRIFICE
"This is the universe discovered by Vaishnavs. It has been brought down to
the experience of the senses by the Vaishnavs from above, and it is realised
through revelation, 'There is a domain of such a conception, and if you like
it, you can come by such-and-such way. You are welcome. There is a domain of
extreme self-abnegation. This is the country where such persons live – if you
would like to be a resident of that land, then come.'"
SELF-PURIFICATION
"First, all gross elements are removed, then all subtle elements are removed,
and then the temple is washed. By doing that, we can cleanse the temples of
our own hearts. None can deceive us, none can check our progress except
ourselves, so we must scrutinise and analyse our own inner temples and brush
aside any undesirable things found there. This is Gundicha-marjan, as
Mahaprabhu showed."
Lost and Languid
Souls
'Coming to this world and falling into the bondage of the illusory
environment, very few people come to practise spiritual life or can serve the
Lord. Leaving God aside, we become managers ourselves. We pose as masters of
our houses and create servants and maidservants for ourselves. This is how we
keep ourselves bound, floundering in this ocean of material life.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
Soul-Deep
Cultivation[By Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj]
"We must be very careful about the depth of our cultivation. What we do must
come from within, from the core of our hearts, from the very essence of our
existence. We must be very mindful of this. This is not lip-deep but
heart-deep – we must reach the plane where we are, where the man (the soul)
is, then our innermost thirst can be quenched."
Развитие на глубине души[Из уст Шрилы Б.Р. Шридхара Дева-Госвами Махараджа]
«Мы должны с большой осторожностью подходить к глубине нашего саморазвития.
То, что мы делаем, должно идти изнутри, из глубины сердца, из самой сути
нашего существования. Мы очень чётко должны это осознавать. Мы должны не
просто говорить это на словах, но чувствовать и понимать в самом сердце
нашего существования: мы должны выйти на уровень бытия, где находимся мы
сами, где находится сам человек (душа), тогда наша глубочайшая жажда будет
утолена».
Srila Guru Maharaj Remembers "I was born at midnight, Saturday 10th October, 1895. Navami tithiunder
the same sign as Lord Ramchandra. Krishna-paksa [dark moon fortnight]. Sriman
Mahaprabhu was also born on a Saturday. I was the second child. The first was
a daughter, but she died early, so Ram Kavach [a protective mantram and
amulet] was given to my mother for the protection of the next child, that is,
myself. So I was born after my mother took Ram Kavach...."
Giving
Gurudev Place In Your Heart
'It is necessary to make gurudev happy by knowing who he is, by understanding
him and by serving him. We must serve our gurudev trying to please him. One
time, a husband and a wife came to take initiation from Srila
Prabhupad...'
•
Download / listen to the audio (46.6 Mb, 97 min | Bengali | 10 August
2018)
Today in the calendar:
Amavasya. Festival in honour of the disappearance of Om Visnupad
Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya-varya Astottara-sata-sri Sri Srimad Bhakti
Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.
Make the
Festival, with Heart and Soul
"I am telling to everyone who is staying in the temple, to every centre: you
must make a festival for Srila Sridhar Maharaj. If you want to show that you
want to serve Srila Sridhar Maharaj, then make a good festival on this
day."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min | 15 July 2012)
In honour of Om Vishnupad Srila
Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj:
~ Pranam-mantra ~
devam divya-tanum suchhanda-vadanam balarka-chelanchitam
sandrananda-puram sad-eka-varanam vairagya-vidyambudhim
sri-siddhanta-nidhim subhakti-lasitam sarasvatanam varam
vande tam subhadam mad-eka-saranam nyasisvaram sridharam
"I worship Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, the
bestower of all auspiciousness, my only shelter and the master of all
renunciates. He is my Lord who possesses a transcendental form, whose face
expression is very grave, who is clad in the holy clothes the colour of the
newly risen sun. He is an abode of intense joy; the only genuine master whom
one can accept and surrender to; and an ocean of divine knowledge and
renunciation. He is a repository of holy scriptural teachings and pastimes of
the highest devotion and a dear follower of Srila Saraswati Thakur
Prabhupad."
What Is Sri
Chaitanya Saraswat Math and Its Distinctions "To explain to this world what Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math is, what its
purpose, preaching matter or distinctions are, is an extremely difficult
task, but it is even more difficult to make those who are engrossed in and
inspired by the commonplace ideas appreciate it even partially..."
শ্রীচৈতন্য সারস্বত মঠ কি ও তাঁর বৈশিষ্ট্য
শ্রীচৈতন্য সারস্বত মঠ কি ও তাঁর উদ্দেশ্য, প্রচার্য্য-বিষয় বা বৈশিষ্ট্যের কথা
জগতে বোঝাইতে হইলে যেরূপ সুদুরূহ ব্যাপার, প্রচলিত ভাব-ধারায় বিভাবিত ও
অনুপ্রাণিত বিশ্বের তাহা আংশিকভাবে উপলব্ধি করাইবার চেষ্টাও ততোধিক গুরুতর
কার্য্য । কিন্তু এই মঠের প্রতিষ্ঠাতা আচার্য্য ওঁ বিষ্ণুপাদ শ্রীল ভক্তিরক্ষক
শ্রীধর দেব গোস্বামী মহারাজ ও তাঁর স্থলাভিষিক্ত সেবাইত আচার্য্য ওঁ বিষ্ণুপাদ
শ্রীল ভক্তিসুন্দর গোবিন্দ দেব গোস্বামী মহারাজ ও তাঁর মনোনীত বর্তমান সভাপতি
আচার্য্য ওঁ বিষ্ণুপাদ শ্রীল ভক্তি নির্ম্মল আচার্য্য মহারাজ শ্রীল
ভক্তিসিদ্ধান্ত সরস্বতী ঠাকুরের পথ অনুসরণ করে শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য মহাপ্রভুর শিক্ষা
শুদ্ধভাবে আচার-প্রচারের মাধ্যমে ভারতসহ সারা পৃথিবীতে বদ্ধ জীবকে উদ্ধারের জন্য
অক্লান্ত পরিশ্রম করে চলেছেন ।
Do Not Compromise
with Maya
"So many problems came in their time, and they did not back off—they spoke
the truth; but we are ready to compromise our principles—we compromise what
Mahaprabhu teaches us with other things. Srila Sridhar Maharaj saw a big
dream that Mahaprabhu's proper conception would be preached all over the
world by Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and that is happening now. We must not
surrender to maya."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.8 Mb, 11 min | 7 June 2019)
Photo Album: (35 photographs, 3.4 Mb)
A collection of selected photographs of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksak
Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj is now added to the archive of photographs.
Our Literary Heritage
A complete extensive collection of publications and holy books most
mercifully presented to us by devotees who tirelessly collected, transcribed,
and presented carefully in a book-form the holy transcendental discourses of
His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj containing
unprecedented and much appreciated and extolled by the entire Vaishnava
universe siddhanta. We invite everyone to come in touch with the
touchstones of these holy books and embrace the supreme nourishment and
fulfilment that any sincere seeker shall find therein.
Exalted,
Esteemed, and Inimitable
"We have no quality or qualification to glorify Srila Bhakti Raksak
Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. He is a super personality. Srila Sridhar Maharaj
conquered, possessed the heart of Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati
Thakur through his service and devotion."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 10 min | 26 July 2014)
Festival of
Solemn Service
"Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's disappearance festival is
coming soon and all over the world devotees are making some ceremony on this
day. No actual disciple wants to see their Gurudev's disappearance day—it is
about the love and affection, about a good connection between the Guru and
the disciple..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.9 Mb, 9 min | 28 July 2011)
Make the
Festival, with Heart and Soul
"I am telling to everyone who is staying in the temple, to every centre: you
must make a festival for Srila Sridhar Maharaj. If you want to show that you
want to serve Srila Sridhar Maharaj, then make a good festival on this
day."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min | 15 July 2012)
The Root of Our
Fortune
"Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj came in this world to rescue us, and he
created our Guru—by his grace we have got shelter of our bona fide
Guru. So, we must worship his lotus feet."
•
Download / listen to the audio (7.6 Mb, 22 min | 22 October 2011)
Relation With
Guru: Watch Out
"Srila Gurudev gave much honour and much respect to everybody, both his
godbrothers and his disciples. However, a disciple should also understand—if
Gurudev gives me respect, it does not mean I will now jump and sit on his
head."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.4 Mb, 6 min | 19 July 2020)
Spoken on the appearance day of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj
in 2019:
"They Cannot Steal Our
Hearts"
"People in this world want money, things, this, and that, they always search
for material things, but we are not like that. They want to enjoy Krishna's
things, but devotees always enjoy their practice. That is the main
thing."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 7 min | 1 August 2019)
Brief History
"Soon after Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's disappearance
in 1937, Srila Sridhar Maharaj also left Chaitanya Math in Mayapur,
empty-handed, wearing only his clothes. Feeling very sad, he went to
Vrindavan and stayed in Pavan Sarovar..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.2 Mb, 9 min | 1 August 2019)
Pure Rupanuga-Dhara
"Actually, anyone can manage a temple, but who did Srila Prabhupad make his
acharya (successor) from within his heart? Who could preach the pure
conception? Who was the pure Rupanuga-dhara?"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | 1 August 2019)
At Ultadanga and
Godavari
"When Srila Sridhar Maharaj joined in 1926, Srila Prabhupad was staying at
Ultadanga. Srila Sridhar Maharaj had passed his Bachelor degree and got
admitted to a law college, when one day he got some message that a great
sadhu was giving lectures at Ultadanga."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.8 Mb, 5 min | 1 August 2019)
Supreme Fortune and
Earnest Prayer
"I am praying to Srila Guru Maharaj and Srila Gurudev, 'Wherever you are, you
can see all the situation. What is your desire? Your desire is not that they
occupy the building, your desire is to preach Sri Rupa-Raghunath katha all
over the world, but how will you fulfil your desire?'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 6 min | 1 August 2019)
Spoken on the appearance day of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj
in 2020:
Our Great Fortune
"Today is a very auspicious day because tomorrow is the appearance day of our
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Founder Acharya—our Param Gurudev, Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. I am giving my full humble
obeisance at the lotus feet of my beloved Gurudev, and our Param
Gurudev...."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.7 Mb, 7 min | 8 November)
Srila Sridhar Maharaj:
Appearance and Early Days
"The name of Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's father is Upendra Chandra
Bhattacharya. His birthpalce is in Hapaniya. His mother's name was Sri Gauri
Devi. By the will of the Lord, when Srila Sridhar Maharaj appeared, he was
the eldest son. How did his parents get this kind of son? There is some
history behind it."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 7 min)
Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Powerful
Preaching
"When Srila Sridhar Maharaj left his house and joined Gaudiya Mission, Srila
Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur was very pleased. Even before taking
sannyas, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was a great preacher. He was
always very enthusiastic to preach."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.3 Mb, 11 min)
Suggested kirtans:
Sri Guru Parampara kirtan Arati kirtan Guru-vandana Pancha-tattva-vandana Vaishnava-vandana Srila Prabhupad's kirtan Nityananda-vandana Mahaprabhu-vandana Radha-Krsna-vandana Viraha-giti Closing
This day in 2013 (Bengali):
• Morning Bengali class of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya
Maharaj:
(Download,
13.8 Mb, 40 min)
• Morning kirtans:
(Download, 15.9 Mb, 47 min)
• Noon class of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
(includes a ten-minute archive recording of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda
Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Bengali lecture at the end, which was played during the
class to the assembled audience):
(Download, 11.5 Mb, 34 min)
Some preparations and items that are known to be favourite to His Divine
Grace Srila Sridhar Maharaj include: natural orange juice (with just a little
sugar), cholar dahl (split chickpea dal) or kolai dal (urad dal), alu bhaji
(deep-fried potato chips), sukta, muri, puri/luchi with alu bhaja, aloo dum,
samosa, pineapple chutney (anaraser chutney), puspanna, figs (dumur), chaunsa
mango.
Fri, 25 July 2025
Grasp onto
Guru, Not Maya
'It is useless to live running behind material life and material family. If
you live in a family, you must live as only a guard (not a master). There
must be no attachment, but there must be the knowledge of the relationship.
Our lives in this world have some relationship: that is, our lives are
directly related to the Lord.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [EVENING | PART 1]
Know and Love
the Lord
"May we love the Lord in the same way that we now love our house, wife, sons,
friends, etc. When will this day come? Until and unless this day comes, you
will have to keep coming to this material world and material family."
Sincerity
and Chastity
"We will follow what our Guru Maharaj follows. We do not want to know who
is good, who is bad, who is better, who is worse. It is not necessary to
criticise others. We will only be chaste to our Guru Maharaj, and we will
follow our Guru Maharaj's conception. This is the best."
Sat, 26 July 2025
Surrender and
Thrive
'How can you make me happy? I will be happy if you can take shelter of a bona
fide guru and practise Krishna consciousness. Practise Krishna consciousness
every day, offer arati every day, do parikrama every day. This
is what I want, and this is what will make me the happiest, and the Lord will
also be pleased.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (32 Mb, 66 min | 26 February 2019 |
Bengali)
A new whatsapp subscription channel has been created to enable
notifications of the updates. (It is currently functioning in a trial mode.)
Subscribe/join for
the updates.
For updates in Russian: Создан телеграм-канал для уведомлений о добавлении
новых русских переводов на сайт. (Пока работает в тестовом режиме.)
Подписаться на
уведомления.
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [EVENING | PART 2]
Develop
Deepest Dedication
"This Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math is not only some group of people from West
Bengal. This Mission includes members from all over the world. If you have
Gurudev's mercy, you must give yourself completely, to the very end, for the
service of Gurudev—you must pour out all your heart, your mind,
everything..."
—{ Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Treasury }—
• SRI SRI PREMA-VIVARTA •
IN PRAISE OF SRI SRI PREMA-VIVARTA
"Srila Jagadananda Pandit collected his notes on Sriman Mahaprabhu's Pastimes
and teachings, and presented them in the form of a book called Sri
Prema-vivarta. This book was published by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur and
is full of Gaudiya siddhanta."
• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •
Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram(Part One, chanted on Saturdays)
'Demigods, perfected souls, liberated souls, yogis and Lord’s devotees always
sing His praise; He relieves the world from the blazing forest fire of
three-fold miseries (caused by the desire for enjoyment, liberation and
perfections) brought about by inauspicious actions (performed in aversion to
the Supreme Lord); an ocean of generosity, He bestows His own Name from the
nectarean storehouse of Lord Sri Krishna’s Names – I am singing in praise of
this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine
love.'
Sun, 27 July 2025
Cherish Tulasi
Seva
'Nobody lives in starvation if they serve Tulasi. Tulasi is very dear to the
Lord, so the Lord will arrange everything for those who serve her. She is
always manifest (she does not need to be 'installed' by anybody). What
happens when you offer your obeisance to Tulasi? It makes the Lord
happy.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (23 Mb, 48 min | 24 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [EVENING | PART 3]
At Lord's Home
"We do not live like householders who are attached to their material life:
waking up at ten and when you fancy or have time, then you go with a plate of
some food to the Deities. There are rules here."
—{ Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Treasury }—
• SRI SRI PREMA-VIVARTA •
(1) INVOCATION OF AUSPICIOUSNESS
"Divinity is beyond thought and description. Describing it leads to error.
This alone is the truth. We never find faults in divinity. Brother,
everything is harmonised by the Absolute’s inconceivable energy. Thus, the
states of being divided and undivided, which we see within the Absolute
simultaneously, are both part of the Absolute’s nature."
• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •
Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram(Part Two, chanted on Sundays)
'Very tall, beautiful and infused with divine love, His holy form increases
gods’ joy; the lustre of His body, which puts millions of golden lotuses to
shame, is worshipped by the Moon; and His intrinsic form is a holy abode of
divine pastimes manifest as eternal ever-increasing transcendental ecstatic
transformations that spring up as He revels dancing in Sri Krishna-sankirtan
– I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a
worshippable Deity of divine love.'
Mon, 28 July 2025
Know Thyself
'You have heard many kinds of kirtans in many various places, but what
I will tell you is something that nobody except Gaudiya Vaishnavs will tell
you. We think that we know everything, but the problem is that, even knowing
so much, we still do not know who we ourselves are.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (23 Mb, 48 min | 24 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [EVENING | PART 4]
Pure
Preacher's Position
"Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur also said that for
preaching you can even take a loan because if you borrow money, it will force
you to go out for collection to pay that money back because the person you
have borrowed it from will keep coming to you and asking you for that money.
This is the rule; this is how we must preach."
—{ Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Treasury }—
• SRI SRI PREMA-VIVARTA •
(2) THE COMPOSITION OF THIS BOOK
"Svarup Damodar asked me, 'O Pandit, what are you writing?' I replied, 'I am
writing about whom I love. I am very confidentially writing down whatever
comes to my mind about Sri Chaitanya's pastimes.' Svarup Damodar said, 'Then
write about the pastimes of the Lord that the world will be greatly
benefitted by reading about.' I replied, 'I don't know what is beneficial for
the world. I just write whatever I like.' Svarup left, considering me mad.
Sitting alone, I write, meditating on the Lord. I saw many pastimes while
living with the Lord, and I write about some of them, as is pleasing to my
mind."
• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •
Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram(Part Three, chanted on Mondays)
'He ardently preached that service performed in various divine relationships
(from dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya- to madhura-rasa)
and the (paramount) service beauty of Sri Radha’s servitors in the highest
paramour madhura-rasa, as well as any transcendental hankering of the
self-realised souls in Sri Vraja Dham, can indisputably be realised in Sri
Vrajendra-nandan only – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri
Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Chaturthi. Disappearance of Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day."
In honour of Srila Vamsi Das
Babaji Maharaj:
"In 1914, when Srila Prabhupad arrived a few days before the festival of
Sriman Mahaprabhu's appearance, he met with Srila Vamsidas Babaji Mahasaya,
an affectionate associate of Srila Gaurakishor Das Goswami Maharaj, in the
yard of a large gymnasium in Kuliya. At that time, Srila Vamsidas did not
speak to anyone—he would only constantly sing on his own the verses from
‘Prarthana’ written by Srila Narottam Thakur Mayasaya for his holy Lordships
Sri Sri Gaura Nityananda, whom he served with pure loving devotion. Seeing
Prabhupad, Srila Vamsidas Babaji Maharaj became extremely happy and, overcome
with feelings, said, 'My Gaura's very own has come.' After that, he cordially
welcomed Prabhupad, gave him a place to sit and began to sing ‘Prarthana’ by
Thakur Mahasay. It was heard that he would every day somehow gather champaka
flowers, string them into two garlands and offer them onto the necks of Sri
Sri Gaura Nityananda. After Srila Prabhupad had seen this service, he told us
much about the loving service of Srila Vamsidas Babaji Maharaj and said that
he was constantly engaged in a much cherished service in ardent adherence to
Srila Narottam Thakur Mahasaya. Prabhupad also said at the time that outside
people could not grasp the unholy practises that Srila Vamsidas Babaji
Maharaj displayed in order to deceive the outside people. The activities and
actions of a perfected Vaishnav of an unfathomable character can never be
perceived by enjoyers, renunciates and imposter devotees."
Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj was the only sadhu who was recognised by
our Guru Maharaj (Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad) as a
sadhu. Indifferent to the world, Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj lived a
strict life of a babaji. He would be seen smoking publicly and living in his
ashram with so many things scattered around it (fish scales, etc.) as he
wanted to keep himself aloof from the society. He was indifferent to all
those worldly things; he was actually searching after Krishna in his heart.
Despite so many contradictory symptoms in his character, he had the
recognition of our Guru Maharaj as a real living Vaishnava. Our Guru Maharaj
rejected so many Vrindavan babajis as being imitators, but Srila Vamsi Das
Babaji Maharaj was not an imitator—he really hankered for Krishna.
Once, there was an earthquake and a temple of Gaura Nitai was demolished.
When somebody expressed their concern about the Deities inside the temple,
Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj said to his audience, "Gaura Nitai are not the
sort of children who would be bashed—They had already fled. Gaura Nitai are
not some material substance that They would be smashed by a crushed
temple."
Another peculiarity was that Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj had lived almost
all his life in Nabadwip, but before passing away he went back to his own
home somewhere in the district of Mymensingh (East Bengal, Bangladesh) and
left his body there. Before he passed away, there were many itchy,
blood-oozing sores on his body and he used to advertise it, "Come and see
what type of a sadhu I am! You are yet to see it! You can see all this is
the result of my bad karma! I am the worst type of man! Do not take me as a
saint, as a sadhu—I am the worst of the worst! Otherwise, why would so many
things have come to my body?" So, in the end, he went once to Vrindavan, then
left it, went to his previous home, and left his body there.
Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj would roam the streets of Nabadwip half-mad. I
have seen him several times when I came to stay here alone, and sometimes I
used to come to his ashram. One evening, I was sitting here and saw him
walking by very much enraged—he was shouting, "Why are you crowding here?!
Can you not see that Rupa Manjari is here?! Why are there so many of you
wandering here?!" He spoke, perhaps, in the mood of Yasoda, and it seemed
apparently irrelevant—he said, "Sri Rupa Manjari has come here, why are you
all crowding here? Go away!"
Another time, some gentleman was singing a song of Srila Narottam Das
Thakur. When he finished singing, Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj remarked,
"You have only superficially repeated the sound, but the real influence, the
real impression, the inner voltage is unknown to you. Those who are hit by
the strong feeling suggested by this song can know the power underlying it,
but you are merely repeating the sound physically, you do not feel the volt,
the energy within it. The voltage of the meaning of this song has not struck
your heart." He remarked like that. Ordinary men who exist on the surface
only repeat sounds, but those whose hearts have been touched by the deep
underlying meaning can understand what that song contains...
"For a particular purpose it may be all right to keep a beard, but that is
not the custom, neither with the sannyasis, nor with the babajis. Srila
Sanatan Goswami had a full beard and Mahaprabhu ordered, 'Take him to a
barber and remove it.' Neither sannyasis, nor babajis keep such things. So,
we do not like to keep it either. During the Chaturmasya, for the vrata, it
is mentioned in the sastra that we can keep hair and beard, otherwise
generally not. At the same time, it is not that if one keeps long hair and
long beard he cannot be a Vaishnav. There was Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj, an
independent Vaishnav. Our Guru Maharaj (Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati
Thakur Prabhupad) also gave respect to him as a Vaishnav, but he had a big
beard and did not shave at all. He was very negligent, he did not follow any
sort of fashion—he did not allow any barber to shave him. Still, he was a
respectable Vaishnav. As for yourself, if you keep a beard only to satisfy
the Muslims for the purpose of your service—if you approach them to collect
money and you can render good service to your Gurudev through that, then, for
this purpose, to keep the safety of your vocation, you may keep a
beard."
(Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)
It can sometimes be very hard for us to accept the different natures of
the devotees in this Krishna consciousness mission. If someone will stick to
only one attitude, then he must be doomed to failure. There are many
devotees—and many different natures. As an example, you can see in our
own Sri Guru-varga that Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur has one kind of nature,
Srila Gaura Kisor Das Babaji Maharaj has another kind of nature, Srila Bhakti
Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's nature is of another type, and Vamsi Das Babaji
Maharaj's nature is yet another. But they are all
siddha-mahapurusas—perfected souls. Also Srila Jagannath Das Babaji
Maharaj has another type of nature, and our Srila Guru Maharaj yet another.
So who are you to follow?
You cannot follow the activities of anybody, but it will be good for your
practitioner's life if only you take the guidelines from your Gurudeva and
do not try to imitate anyone.
We heard that Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj ate fish and would often smoke a
water-pipe. He would light the tobacco first, offer it to Sri Sri
Nitai-Gaura, and then he himself would take that. But if you try to imitate
him you must fall down.
Devotee: Did They accept that offering?
Srila Govinda Maharaj: Yes, They accepted. Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj's
position was such that he was a paramahamsa Vaishnav in vatsalya-rasa, so
Nitai-Gaura could not ignore his offering. But you cannot imitate him.
Question: It was the disappearance day of Vamsi Das Babaji
yesterday. Could you tell us something about that?
Actually, there are many followers of Mahaprabhu. Not so much is written
about many of them, but because they are followers of Mahaprabhu we give
their name in the panjika (calendar). We always pay obeisance to them
because they serve Mahaprabhu. Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, Jagannath Das
Babaji Maharaj and others are our line and like many previous Gurus and
babajis in our line, they lived and did bhajan in Radha Kunda, but
after that they came to Nabadwip. We respect them as our Guru-varga, and that
is sufficient for us, it is not so important to know the detailed history of
their lives. Sometimes, the description of their life is not written anywhere
in the scriptures, but we always follow our Srila Sridhar Maharaj's
panjika and we give their name in it.
Align
Yourself with Your Soul
'We always think about our minds, but the mind lives the external world. We
always run behind the wicked desires of our minds, but the soul does not want
anything bad – it is created by the Lord and exists for the Lord. This is how
we should try to live.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (23 Mb, 48 min | 24 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [EVENING | PART 5]
Clear Vision
"You must make yourselves supremely qualified (uttam) in this way.
This temple and mission are not mine only. How long will I be here? You are
the ones who will stay behind, and you must always come here. You must always
keep love and affection for gurudev, you must always come to the
temple."
—{ Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Treasury }—
• SRI SRI PREMA-VIVARTA •
(3) FIRST OBEISANCES
"I bow innumerable times at the feet of Radha, whose expansion in Dvaraka is
Satyabhama. The Lord gave me the service of Giridhari on the shore of the
ocean, and kept all the devotees from Gauda with me. I prostrate myself at
the feet of my beloved Gaura and write this Prema-vivarta, having
received the order of the devotees."
(4) GAURA’S GREATNESS
"There is no Guru in this world other than Gaura. Teach everyone sincere
devotion to Gauranga. Give up deceit and make your mind sincere. Serving
Gaura and serving society at the same time is useless. Brother, either serve
Gora or serve society. The two never remain in one place together. If you do
not become single-minded, the plight of crossing a river in two boats will
befall you."
• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •
Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram(Part Four, chanted on Tuesdays)
'Overcome with strong bouts of divine love surging through Him and becoming
unconscious of the world around Him, He dances madly and chants
kirtan; the tears streaming incessantly from His eyes flood His body,
the colour of molten gold and tall as the mount Sumeru, His clothes, the
colour of the newly risen sun, and the earth in all fourteen directions
around Him; He glows as He chants, ‘Krishna! Krishna!’, shouts jumbled up
words and relishes various postures and behaviours (roaring with laughter,
etc.) under the influence of divine love – I am singing in praise of this
beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'
Wed, 30 July 2025
Appealing to
Intelligence
'We have a human form, so we have some intelligence. Therefore, I am telling
you, appealing to your intelligence: make your life Krishna-centred. We have
the right to exist in this world only to serve the Lord, not just to
eat.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (23 Mb, 48 min | 24 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [EVENING | PART 6]
Clear Identity
"I can give somebody saffron clothes today and they will wear it, but does it
mean that the person has become a brahmachari? Our identities do not
depend on our clothes! Our identities are not based on any external
varna – our identities are based on how we behave and what we
practise."
—{ Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Treasury }—
• SRI SRI PREMA-VIVARTA •
(5) TRANSFORMATIONS OF ECSTASY IN SERVICE
"My Gaura knows everything: He sent me to Vrindavan and observed the result
from afar. Good! He can be happy, and I can be sad forever. His happiness
will be my happiness. Night and day I cry, feeling separation from Gaura, but
Gaura laughs seeing my crying face."
• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •
Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram(Part Five, chanted on Wednesdays)
'He reveals (first, to Sri Sanatan and then to Prakasananda) sixty-two
interpretations of the famous verse ‘Atmaramas cha… ittham-bhuta-guno
harih’ (‘Even self-realised, self-satisfied souls are moved to worship
the Lord’) from Srimad Bhagavatam; interpreting the various lexical
meanings of the eleven words of this verse, juxtaposed in different ways, He
reveals a treasure-mine of multitudinous meanings of this verse in consonance
with the precepts of pure devotional conclusions – I am singing in praise of
this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine
love.'
Thu, 31 July 2025
Turn Karma Into
Seva
'People say that karma is the highest path, but we say that
karma must be given up because if you engage in karma, you
become bound by it, and the result of such bondage is hellish suffering. You
may ask, "How will my family survive?" The answer is that you must turn
karma into seva.'
•
Download / listen to the audio (23 Mb, 48 min | 24 February 2019 |
Bengali)
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Hari-Katha: Year 2021 }—
1 JANUARY 2021 [EVENING | PART 7]
Sustaining Yourself on Gurudev's Words
"If Gurudev had not given me his mercy, I would have already left a long time
ago, but because Gurudev gave his mercy, I am still alive and can sit here in
front of you and speak about the Lord. This is my great fortune. I am a
beggar, so please give me these alms: wherever I may go, you must always live
following this spiritual line."
—{ Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Treasury }—
• SRI SRI PREMA-VIVARTA •
(6) THE JOURNEY OF THE SOUL
"The soul is a spiritual spark, and Krishna is the spiritual sun. Seeing
eternal Krishna, the soul adores Him. When souls become averse to Krishna and
desire enjoyment, nearby Maya seizes them. While wandering throughout the
material world in this way, some souls become aware of their true nature by
associating with the sadhus..."
• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •
Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram(Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs
swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple;
the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into
that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the
uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows
residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of
this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine
love.'
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Saptami. Departure of Sripad Ananga Mohan Das-Adhikari Prabhu
(a relative and a disciple of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj).
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring great benefit to our spiritual lives."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
"Wake up, look into the calendar and give 'jay' to your Guru and
Vaishnavs. Always pay obeisance to your Guru and Vaishnavs when you wake up
in the morning, always give them 'jay'. Always keep faith and show
respect to them. Always see the calendar—whose appearance day it is, whose
disappearance day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival, at least you can
give them 'jay', it will bring you benefit. When you give 'jay'
to your Guru and Vaishnavs, it brings you sukriti. For example, today
is the disappearance day of a Vaishnav—give 'jay' to him, remember
him. We must always remember the words of Vaishnavs. If I remember the words
of Vaishnavs, I get some benefit, some deposit through that."
'You are chanting the Holy Name yourself and you should engage others in
chanting: you must tell others about it. It may give them some austerity to
hear it and they may not want to hear it, but tell them again and
again—try and try, again and again.'
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
Gaura Dasami. Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj
(a disciple of Srila Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad, a sannyas disciple and a
dear associate of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj). Departure of
Sriyukta Krishnamayi Devi. Punar Yatra of Sri Sri Jagannathdev (return
journey of the Chariots).
•
SONG:
Suddha-bhakata |
শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু
Purnima. Sri Guru Purnima. Appearance of
Srila Vyasadev. Disappearance of Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu.
Beginning of Chaturmasya Vrata.
Sri
Rupa-Sanatan Siksa
Disappearance of Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj (a diksa and
sannyas disciple of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad, the
first Gaudiya Math preacher in the West).
Krishna Panchami. Disappearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami
Prabhu.
Krishna Astami. Disappearance of Srila Lokanath Goswami Prabhu.
Смелее!
[Из уст Шрилы Б.Р. Шридхара Дева-Госвами Махараджа]
Amavasya. Festival in honour of the disappearance of Om Visnupad
Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya-varya Astottara-sata-sri Sri Srimad Bhakti
Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.
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Gaura Chaturthi. Disappearance of Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj.