A Gift to the Gauḍīyas

Today is the auspicious appearance of my dear godbrother and well-wisher, Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the association of His Divine Grace – a rare personality amongst all my contemporaries.

One may think, how is that possible? We see that a person’s ideals and actions distinguish him from other personalities who may be on the same path. We know that the path chalked out by the previous ācāryas has a specific quality – that quality is absolute dedication to Śrī Guru, the ability to catch the inner message of the guru, to live it by practical example, and propagate it clearly and concisely.

We see that in the life of Mahārāja, he showed extreme dedication to the lotus feet of Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda, by traveling throughout the world and bringing the message of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu to the general populace in the form of distributing the transcendental literature that was produced by Śrīla Prabhupāda. Not only distributing it, but studying it, and taking time to catch the important points that would allow him to disseminate the message clearly to others, invoking within them an inspiration to take up the process of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

After the disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s manifest līlā, Mahārāja took shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s dear friend and god-brother, Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī, and continued giving more and more clarity to the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda. In other words, when dealing with the Infinite there is no end. Devotional service doesn’t end. It is continuous and ever-increasing. Thus, awareness of the process of devotional service is also ever-increasing. The same point can be seen from so many different angles of vision.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja was known to be able to extract very, very succinct points from the Bhagavad-gītā – a book which some people consider to be the ABCs of spiritual life. Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja gave extremely subtle, deep meanings and those who actually heard him explain these points appreciated them. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja not only appreciated those points, but wanted them to be made available to the devotional community, and he did so through the publication of many books – Follow the Angels, Encounters with Divinity, Prākṛta Rasa Araṇya Chediṇī to mention but a few. He compiled these literatures with the help of his disciples, who he inspired to follow this same process, which is the mark of a genuine sādhu. It is not that he will only keep these things to himself, but he will also make them available to others in the form of publications and will distribute such literature.

So this was Narasiṅgha Mahārāja’s life and soul, to gather the nectar, distribute it, and also explain in this literature the many pitfalls that one may encounter on the path of devotional service. We must always understand that the process is not so easy. All of us have to take time to develop our internal spiritual enthusiasm, remaining focused on the goal. In other words, not to become distracted by anything external.

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye

O Lord of the universe! I do not desire wealth, followers or beautiful praise. (Śikṣāṣṭakam 4)

Nothing external should act as a distraction, just as when Arjuna was being tested by Droṇa. The objective was to shoot the eye of the bird – so many others were being tested, but only Arjuna passed the test because that’s all he saw. That was the designated target given to him by his guru. So pure devotional service is the goal – śuddha-bhakti. So that’s what Mahārāja focused on – pure devotional service following in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Rūpa Gosvāmī, from Rūpa Gosvāmī coming down to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura from Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura to Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī, to Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, to Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī, Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Mahārāja, and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda.

Narasiṅgha Mahārāja showed this example – catch the thread! Focus on the wealth they have given us. Don’t become lazy, don’t become indifferent, don’t become distracted. Focus on the goal which is to develop pure love of God in this particular line, ultimately coming to the feet of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Her eternal intimate associates. Mahāprabhu came to deliver this message, along with Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāmānanda Rāya and all our Guardians, and Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja is also delivering this same message and making it clear what that message is. Such souls are a gift to humanity. They are a gift to the Gauḍīyas.

Mahārāja’s service was to make these truths available. And the duty of his bona fide followers is to also make those same truths available, applying them in their own lives, and establishing a solid foundation. Service, dāsya-rasa, is the foundation. When the higher agents see that has been established and is going on properly, then they will reveal as they see fit, according to our śaraṇāgati, our surrender, and our ability to sincerely follow this process.

So many challenges will come to test our devotion to the feet of Śrī Guru. The grace that Śrī Gurudeva bestows through His example and His instructions, his directives, should not be considered mundane in any way, shape or form. Should we minimise His directives? If we accept that the spiritual master is the representative of God, then how is it that we can minimise any of His directives that He has given in His life? These points are very, very important. We cannot speculate as to the reason why certain directives are given. We must follow. It is like the postman – he delivers the message. He doesn’t take the message, adulterate it, then deliver it. No, He is simply the peon who delivers the message as it was given by the sender and delivers it to the receiver. We have to become like that. We cannot adulterate what He has given, change it, or try to adjust it, thinking, “That was then, and this is now.” The truth is always the truth. Just as birth, disease, old age and death are axioms – they are truths. This is the nature of the material world. They have existed since time immemorial and they exist now.

What has come to light through the disciplic succession was captured and elucidated by Narasiṅgha Mahārāja, who lived it and disseminated it. So we are most fortunate to have had his association and we are deriving inspiration from him on a daily basis. Along with Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja, and Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Mahārāja, we have an ocean of guardian angels to protect us. We have to take advantage of what they have given us and move forward.

All glories to His Divine Grace, Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja! May we always be in his association and in the association of those who have taken His direction seriously and are sincerely carrying it.

• The True Spirit of Separation by Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī
• Śrīla Swami Mahārāja Attains the Dust of Vraja by Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī
• The Disappearance of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja by Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī
• Who is Qualified to Succeed the Ācārya? by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī
• Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s Disappearance Day by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī
• His Last Instructions by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• The Prākṛta and Aprākṛta-līlā of Śrī Guru by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Antya-līlā by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s Disappearance Day by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• Śrī Jagannātha Deva Shook the Heaven and the Earth by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• After the Disappearance of Śrī Guru by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• Our Most Humble Koṭi Koṭi Koṭi Daṇḍavat Praṇāms by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• A Nourishing and Compassionate Nature by Śrīla Bhakti Kiśora Araṇya Mahārāja
• The Compassionate Nature of Śrī Guru by Śrīla Bhakti Kiśora Araṇya Mahārāja
• Hope For The Hopeless by Śrīla Bhakti Kiśora Araṇya Mahārāja
• With My Head at His Feet by Śrīla Bhakti Kiśora Araṇya Mahārāja
• The Disappearance of Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja by Swami B.V. Giri

• Śrī Acyutānanda’s Departure by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Sādhu Śikṣā (Holy Teachings) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Recognising a Pure Vaiṣṇava by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• The Natural and Marginal Characteristics of a Vaiṣṇava by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• The Nature of a Vaiṣṇava by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Deliberation on the Methodology of Sādhu-saṅga by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• The Association of Sādhus by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura