News of Separation from a Vaiṣṇava
Presented on his holy appearance day
A disciple of Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja
and former Ācārya of Śrī Sārasvata Gauḍīya Āsana and Mission
It is with great sorrow we inform you that on Saturday 31st August 2024, on the Trayodaśī of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhādra, at 3:15 AM, the well-known and ever-dedicated servant of Śrī Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, former ācārya of Śrī Sārasvata Gauḍīya Āsana and Mission, Tridaṇḍī Svāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Rañjana Sāgara Gosvāmī Mahārāja, at approximately 94 years of age, entered into the eternal service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā Dayita Prāṇajī at the Śrī Sārasvata Gauḍīya Āsana Maṭha in Kolkata. He was the recipient of the mercy and sheltered at the lotus feet of a most worshipful master from our guru-varga, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who was an associate of jagad-guru Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda and an esteemed luminary of the Sārasvata Gauḍīya sky, authoring profound commentaries on the three prasthānas – Śruti (Upaniṣads), Smṛti (Bhagavad-gītā), and Nyāya (Brahma-sūtra) – the scriptural foundation of Vedānta.
Birth, childhood, and education
Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rañjana Sāgara Gosvāmī Mahārāja appeared on 26th April 1930, which corresponds with the Amāvasyā tithi in the month of Vaiśākha. This tithi also marks the auspicious appearance day of Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita, an eternal associate of Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, and the auspicious appearance day of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Śrīla Mahārāja appeared in the village of Koṇā, located in Taintul-talā within the Howrah district of West Bengal. His parents were Śrīmatī Lakṣmī Rāṇī Ghoṣa and Śrī Manamatha Ghoṣa, and he was the third of their nine children. They named him Nirmala Ghoṣa. Although his parents were not Vaiṣṇavas, they had special faith in Bhagavān.
From his childhood, Nirmala Ghoṣa used to accompany his father to all the religious ceremonies in the village and would participate in the bhajanas and kīrtanas there with great enthusiasm. His elder brother, Nitāi Ghoṣa, was a government doctor at the State Insurance Scheme Trust. When they grew up, the two brothers opened a clinic in a place called Liluā. Nitāi Ghoṣa treated the patients, and Nirmal Ghoṣa served as a compounder, dispensing the medicine. During his childhood, Nirmala Ghoṣa focused solely on his studies, and in 1949, he passed the 12th standard. Every day, he would touch the feet of his parents and follow all their instructions. If his father ever scolded him, he would simply stand there silently. In this way, his life was exemplary from an early age.
First meeting with his spiritual master and leaving home
Śrī Nirmala Ghoṣa’s phūphā (father’s sister’s husband, his uncle) and his būājī (father’s sister, his aunt) lived in Bahela, Kolkata, and both had accepted the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Viveka Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, an associate of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. Kīrtana and other devotional activities were regularly performed at their home.
Once, in the year 1950, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja visited their house for preaching purposes. [It is well known that during the manifest presence of Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja always stayed under the anugatya of his senior godbrother Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Viveka Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja. After Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance, they together founded Śrī Sārasvata Gauḍīya Āsana and Mission in 1945, to preach the message of Śrīla Prabhupāda.] His būājī would always call Nirmala Ghoṣa to listen to the kathā, but due to his busy schedule of preparing medicine at the clinic, he was unable to go.
On one occasion, however, he did go to his būājī’s house with his father, and for the first time, he had darśana of Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja immediately spoke hari-kathā that was aimed directly at him, saying that if a person obtains a worldly degree, that degree will not go with him to his next life but will remain in this world, yet if a person performs even a little bhakti in this life, the Lord does not let it go in vain, and it goes with him to his next life. Nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti, pratyavāyo na vidyate / sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya, trāyate mahato bhayāt – Endeavours on the path of bhakti-yoga are neither fruitless nor subject to loss. Even a little progress frees one from great fear in the form of this material world (Bhagavad-gītā 2.40). In one’s next birth, one’s devotional life resumes from where it was left off. But if one becomes a doctor or engineer in this life, then, in their next birth, they will have to start their studies from zero. Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja then recited a verse from a kīrtana by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura: “Jaḓa vidyā ĵato māyāra vaibhava tomāra bhajane bādhā, moha janmiyā anitya saṁsāre jīvake karaye gādhā – Mundane knowledge of this world is knowledge born of Bhagavān’s illusory energy (māyā). It creates obstacles in devotional service and makes an ass of the eternal jīva by increasing his infatuation with this temporary world.”
Hearing this verse, Nirmala Ghoṣa was deeply moved and began visiting his aunt’s house every day by bicycle, to listen to hari-kathā. Regularly hearing from Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja deeply influenced him, and as a result, on Śiva-rātri day in 1951, he renounced his home and came to stay near Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja at Śrī Sārasvata Gauḍīya Āsana and Mission Maṭha, at Hazra Road, Kolkata. His parents came several times to persuade him to return home, but he remained firm in his decision to stay in the maṭha. He strictly followed all the maṭha rules attending āratis, kīrtanas, hari-kathā, and so forth, and he remained engaged in maṭha-sevā.
Dīkṣā
Seeing Śrī Nirmala Ghoṣa’s inclination for selfless service, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja bestowed upon him harināma and dīkṣā, on the auspicious day of Śrī Nṛsiṁha Caturdaśī in the month of Vaiśākha, in the year 1952. After dīkṣā, his name became Śrī Nityānanda dāsa Brahmacārī.
The disciplinary grace of his Śrī Gurudeva
Right from his brahmacārī stage, Śrī Nityānanda dāsa wholeheartedly accepted the discipline of his gurudeva. One day, some Vaiṣṇava guests were visiting the maṭha, and Śrī Nityānanda dāsa was looking down at them from the balcony. Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja noticed him doing so and angrily said, “Nityānanda, I will take care of this right away!” The very next day, Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja had the entire balcony covered with mesh so that no one could look down at others from there. Pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja observed this conduct, as instructed by his gurudeva, throughout his life.
In the year 1957, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrupa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja expressed to Śrī Nityānanda Brahmacārī his desire to award him sannyāsa. He asked him, “Nityānanda, will you be able to follow my instructions properly or not?”
At that time, Nityānanda Brahmacārī neither said yes nor did he say no. He simply bowed down his head and began to weep. Why? He thought, “Gurudeva is asking if I will be able to follow his instructions properly or not; rather, he should just order me.” For the rest of his life, pūjyapāda Mahārāja lamented his fate: “My gurudeva asked me such a question because I am not able to properly follow his instructions.” He would often weep about this.
A test of patience and tolerance
Once, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja sent Śrī Nityānanda dāsa to obtain sweets, flower garlands, and other items for a festival. Śrī Nityānanda dāsa went to the market on foot, and when he returned with the items, Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja scolded him in front of everyone in the assembly: “Where did you go? Who asked you to go?” He reprimanded him harshly. Nityānanda dāsa did not say anything; he just listened quietly. Then, a devotee asked Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, “Mahārāja, you yourself sent him to bring the items from the market, and he has brought them. Why are you scolding him?”
Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja replied to him quietly: “I am testing his patience and tolerance. I want to see whether, in the future, he will be able to endure false criticism and still fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to him by me. If, in the future, he holds any significant position in the maṭha (such as the post of ācārya), he must possess the essential quality of tolerance required for such a role.”
On another occasion also, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja tested the patience and tolerance of Śrī Nityānanda dāsa. Every morning while staying in his gurudeva’s Kolkata maṭha, Śrī Nityānanda dāsa would go for bhikṣā (collection of alms) and return by noon. He meticulously kept note of every penny he collected and every penny he spent. As long as Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrupa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja was physically present, the devotees in charge of all three maṭhas – Purī, Navadvīpa, and Kolkata – would present him with the annual accounts of their respective maṭha. Śrī Nityānanda dāsa personally looked after the accounts of the Kolkata maṭha and would annually submit them to his gurudeva.
Once, after doing so, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrupa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja called him and said, “Nityānanda, I need you to write a letter to the in-charge of the Purī maṭha.” Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrupa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja proceeded to dictate the letter, in which he said that while the Purī maṭha was being managed well, Nityānanda was mismanaging the money in the Kolkata maṭha and not handling things properly. In other words, Śrī Nityānanda dāsa had to personally write a letter falsely accusing himself of mismanaging funds and being incapable of properly managing the maṭha’s operations.
This incident demonstrates his profound tolerance and humility. He did not protest or raise any objection. In this way, he successfully passed the test given by his revered gurudeva. Consequently, later, Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja formally chose pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja as a future ācārya (spiritual preceptor) of their maṭha and personally documented this.
Pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja used to say, “A resident of the maṭha must be tolerant. To the extent that it is in one’s nature to complain just to fulfil one’s selfish desires, to that extent one is an avaiṣṇava. In other words, that person is far from being a Vaiṣṇava.”
Sannyāsa
Observing his responsible and dedicated service, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja conferred sannyāsa upon Śrī Nityānanda dāsa Brahmacārī on the auspicious day of Śrī Gaura Pūrṇimā in 1957 in Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma. He was then known as Śrīmad Bhakti Rañjana Sāgara Mahārāja.
Following the orders of his Śrīla Gurudeva
In his old age, pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja resided at the Purī maṭha from time to time. One day a procession passed by outside the maṭha, performing kīrtana. Pūjyapāda Mahārāja inquired about it from his sevaka, who informed him that it was likely a Vaiṣṇava group performing kīrtana for some festival. Pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja’s bhajana-kuṭī was situated on the first floor, and it had a window that opened towards the street. When he learned that Vaiṣṇavas were passing by performing kīrtana, he said, “I want to go downstairs and take darśana of the procession.”
The sevaka said, “Mahārāja! I will open this window, and you can take darśana from here. You will be able to see the entire procession.”
“No!” Mahārāja replied. “My gurudeva forbade me from looking down at others from above.”
So, even at the age of 90, he maintained a strict adherence to this command of his gurudeva and went downstairs to take darśana of the procession, offering sāṣṭāṅga praṇāma to all the Vaiṣṇavas.
Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja instructed pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja to always recite the Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata. Hence, he constantly recited the Caitanya-bhāgavata as if it were his very life and memorized the entire book. Even in his final days, he would ask his attendant devotees to recite the Caitanya-bhāgavata for him. Additionally, Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja also instructed him to regularly sing śaraṇāgati kīrtanas, and thus, pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja performed śaraṇāgati kīrtanas every day with great devotion.
There was a strict rule in the maṭhas of Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja that no one was to go anywhere without his permission, not even to have darśana of Śrī Jagannātha Deva at the temple in Purī. After Śrīla Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s disappearance, if pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja ever had to go anywhere, he would always seek permission from the Vaiṣṇavas of the maṭha before leaving.
The ideal of attending all three āratis in the maṭha
Pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja set an exemplary standard of consistently attending all three āratis in the maṭha. Once, he went to attend a morning event outside the maṭha. Upon his return, he was so exhausted that he had to take a nap. His sevaka had noticed that he was tired and did not wake him up in time for ārati. When pūjyapāda Mahārāja did wake up, ārati was over and the temple doors were closed. He rebuked his sevaka: “You are my greatest enemy because you did not wake me up for ārati.”
That day, pūjyapāda Mahārāja refused to accept midday prasāda. “I could not have darśana of midday ārati today,” he said.
His sevaka humbly pleaded with him to take prasāda: “Mahārāja, what does it matter if you missed the ārati just once? Please take prasāda.”
Pūjyapāda Mahārāja, slightly angered, responded, “ ‘What does it matter?’ Śiva, Śuka, and Nārada, overwhelmed with divine love, eagerly participate in the ārati. Even Brahmā and other demigods set aside all their duties to attend the Lord’s ārati. What work do I have to do that is more important than theirs? We reside in the maṭha. Even people from outside leave their work and come to the maṭha to witness the ārati. How can we not be present where Lalitā, Viśākhā, and other sakhīs perform ārati of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and where there are the devotional sentiments of our guru-varga?” True to his word, he did not take prasāda.
Only when he had attended sandhyā (dusk) ārati did Mahārāja partake of prasāda. He used to say, “Due to old age, I am already unable to serve properly. If I miss the ārati darśana as well, I will be committing spiritual suicide.”
Once, pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja slipped and fell in the washroom, and his body was fractured in three places. Despite such physical discomfort, he still went for darśana of śrī vigraha at the time of ārati.
His humility
Once, a devotee came with one of pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja’s godbrothers to have his darśana. The godbrother introduced the devotee: “Mahārāja, this devotee has come for your darśana.” When the devotee offered praṇāma to pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja, Mahārāja humbly offered praṇāma to him in return. He then began to speak:
jagāi-mādhāi haite muĩ se pāpiṣṭha
purīṣera kīṭa haite muĩ se laghiṣṭha
mora nāma śune ĵei, tāra puṇya kṣaya
mora nāma laya ĵei, tāra pāpa haya
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 5.205–206)
[I am more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi and more insignificant than a worm in stool. Anyone who hears my name loses all their piety, and anyone who utters my name incurs sin.]
He humbly said to his godbrother, “Therefore, I am not qualified to give ‘darśana’. Only Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇavas are truly able to give darśana. Kindly take him to take darśana of Mahāprabhu and Ṭhākurajī.”
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Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhi. Wherever pūjyapāda Mahārāja saw Hari, Guru, Vaiṣṇavas, Tulasī, or any sacred entity, he would offer sāṣṭāṅga daṇḍavat praṇāma. Most of us usually offer pañcāṅga praṇāma (bowing down with five parts of the body), but Mahārāja never hesitated to offer full obeisances, even to those who were junior to him. He displayed exceptional humility by treating everyone with the utmost reverence.
Even the objects used by Vaiṣṇavas are worthy of our service
Once, while pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja was in the Purī maṭha, he came down from his bhajana-kuṭīra to offer praṇāma to Ṭhākurajī. As he got up, his foot accidentally touched a cloth that had fallen from above, a brahmacārī’s garment drying on the first floor. Mahārāja immediately offered praṇāma to that cloth. His servant asked, “Mahārāja, why are you offering praṇāma to a piece of cloth?” Mahārāja replied, “Please see that just as Vaiṣṇavas are worthy of our service, so too are the objects used by Vaiṣṇavas, such as their clothes, footwear, plates, and other items. We must respectfully and attentively honour everything used by Vaiṣṇavas. If someone claims to serve Vaiṣṇavas but neglects the items used by them, they are not truly serving the Vaiṣṇavas. That is why I offered praṇāma to this cloth.”
The servant further asked, “But Mahārāja, this cloth belongs to a devotee who is very junior to you.”
Pūjyapāda Mahārāja replied, “My gurudeva instructed me to perform nāma-saṅkīrtana and serve the Vaiṣṇavas. He never said to serve only senior Vaiṣṇavas and neglect younger ones. Moreover, how can we determine who is junior and who is senior? If you say age determines this, then consider the four Kumāras. Although they appear young in age, even the greatest brahmarṣis offered praṇāma to them. Those who serve Viṣṇu are Vaiṣṇavas are always worthy of our service.” He then added, “Chāḓiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā, nistāra pāibo kebā – without serving Vaiṣṇavas, is it possible to be delivered from this world?”
Pūjyapāda Mahārāja maintained this principle with exceptional vigilance.
Firm faith in Kṛṣṇa’s protection
In the year 2015, during the Ratha-yātrā festival, pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja was in Purī. At that time, he developed a fever, and his attendants took him to the hospital. When the doctor checked pūjyapāda Mahārāja, his body temperature was 104°F. The doctor told him, “Please go outside and wait. I will write the prescription and give the necessary medication.”
As Mahārājajī stepped outside, the doctor turned to Mahārājajī’s attendant and said, “Sādhus dedicate their lives to performing bhajana of Bhagavān. But if they still face such suffering despite their performance of bhajana, why should we engage in bhajana? Isn’t it pointless? Even after performing bhajana, saints endure so much hardship, and we who do not perform any bhajana also face difficulties. What is the difference between them and us? Both endure difficulties. Doesn’t that make us who don’t go to the trouble of performing bhajana better than the saints, since the suffering of both is the same?
The attendant did not reply. He came out with the prescription and asked pūjyapāda Mahārāja to proceed back to the maṭha. By the grace of his gurudeva, Mahārājajī understood through divine intuition what the doctor had said. He humbly told the attendant, “Everyone must endure their prārabdha (fructifying karmic reaction). Even Lord Brahmā said in his prayers, “Tat te ’nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātmakṛtaṁ vipākam – O Lord, those who, with great enthusiasm, clearly perceive Your mercy at every moment are able to endure with unperturbed minds the happiness and distress that comes to them in accordance with their prārabdha-karma, considering it to be Your mercy” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.8). Pūjyapāda Mahārāja said, “I have committed many offences; that is why this is happening to me. I am unable to destroy my prārabdha. Who in this world can completely destroy their prārabdha?”
After remaining silent for a while, he said, “There is one person who can. Who is that? One who has taken complete shelter at the lotus feet of guru and Vaiṣṇavas. Such a person receives the full mercy of guru, and only such an individual can completely nullify their prārabdha. But I do not have that capability because I have not fully surrendered to my gurudeva, nor have I served him properly. Who will protect me?”
Saying this, Mahārājajī began crying loudly, calling out, “Hā Gurudeva! Hā Prabhupāda! Please protect me.” His cries startled the doctor, who immediately came out, thinking that perhaps Mahārājajī was experiencing severe discomfort. He took Mahārājajī back inside and checked him again. To his amazement, there was no trace of fever in Mahārājajī’s body. He was completely healthy.
“How did this happen?” the doctor asked.
Mahārājajī slightly smiled and said, “Avaśya rakṣiben kṛṣṇa viśvāsa pālana (one must firmly believe in the protection of Kṛṣṇa and His dear devotees)” and walked out of the doctor’s cabin.
Inspired by the teachings of Śrīman Mahāprabhu to collect alms
While staying at the Purī maṭha, pūjyapāda Mahārāja used to go daily to a certain person’s house for bhikṣā, but as soon as that person and his wife saw Mahārājajī, they would start verbally abusing him. Nevertheless, Mahārājajī would always recite the mahā-mantra and a verse from Śrī Caitanya- bhāgavata to them. He would also pick jasmine flowers from their garden to make a garland for Ṭhākurajī at the maṭha. He did this daily for almost 4–5 months. Every day, he would go to their house, endure their harsh words and return with the flowers. He used to say, “It doesn’t matter if they speak badly to me. I go to their house and perform some kīrtana of Mahāprabhu’s words. Whether they listen to them or not, the words of Mahāprabhu will certainly take effect one day. And if nothing else, the flowers from their garden are used in the service of Ṭhākurajī.”
Indeed, by these acts a change gradually occurred in their hearts. One day, the lady of that house, with great remorse, said to Mahārājajī, “Bābā! You come here every day and we abuse you. Please forgive us.” That day, she voluntarily gave bhikṣā to Mahārājajī and told him, “Please come every week to receive bhikṣā from us.”
It was through great effort and immense patience such as this that pūjyapāda Mahārājajī connected many people to the line of Śrīman Mahāprabhu.
Once, pūjyapāda Mahārājajī went to a certain house for bhikṣā and the owner offered him 151 rupees. At that time, 151 rupees was a large amount. But Mahārājajī returned that 151 rupees to that person, saying, “I will not accept this money until you listen to some kṛṣṇa-kathā from me.” That person had no desire to listen to kathā, but still he listened to Mahārājajī narrate something about Mahāprabhu, and on Mahārājajī’s request, he chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Only then did Mahārājajī accept that bhikṣā. Actually, he never accepted bhikṣā without first narrating some bhagavat-kathā. In this way, following the principle of telling others to worship Kṛṣṇa, glorify Kṛṣṇa, and chant Kṛṣṇa’s name (bhajo kṛṣṇa, kaho kṛṣṇa, laho kṛṣṇa-nāma), Mahārājajī, inspired by Mahāprabhu’s ideals, preached in the same spirit as Nityānanda Prabhu and Haridāsa Ṭhākura when Śrīman Mahāprabhu sent them out to preach.
Śāstra is the verbal manifestation of the Lord
Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja used to say that śāstra is Bhagavān’s vāṅmya mūrti (deity in the form of transcendental words). Therefore, just as he celebrated the appearance of Bhagavān on the occasion of Janmāṣṭamī, Rāma Navamī, Nṛsiṁha Caturdaśī and so forth, he would also hold a festival whenever he published a new scripture, because on that day, Bhagavān’s vāṅmya avatāra manifested in the form of śāstra. Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja had such unparalleled reverence for śāstra. Pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja, following the ideal of his gurudeva, would daily offer praṇāma to each of the scriptures published by his gurudeva, considering them to be Bhagavān’s vāṅmya-vigraha. If he found a torn page, he would personally tape it and carefully place it on the bookshelf, so as to preserve it.
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Once, during the summer, Mahārāja was sitting on the veranda chanting harināma. At that time, a sevaka came to him and said, “Mahārāja, please go upstairs and chant harināma. There is a fan there.” Mahārāja replied, “How can real bhajana take place if one seeks comfort and bodily conveniences? What kind of ideal for bhajana have our guru-varga demonstrated?
"tyaktvā tūṛṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tucchavat
bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau
Śrī Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭakam (4)
[I worship the six Gosvāmīs who abandoned at once the association of kingly aristocracy, deeming it insignificant, and out of compassion, humbly wore only loincloths and ragged quilts.]
"Nowadays, we have fans, coolers, and all kinds of conveniences, and we have sufficient food and drink. But even with all these comforts, are we able to perform real bhajana?”
*****
When pūjyapāda Bhaktivedānta Śrīdhara Mahārāja (previously Śrī Rasānanda dāsa Brahmacārī) first came to Śrī Sārasvata Gauḍīya Āsana and Mission’s Purī Maṭha, it was pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja, who, being satisfied with his service attitude, wrote a letter to his gurudeva, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, recommending Rasānanda dāsa Brahmacārī for harināma and dīkṣā.
Pūjyapāda Sāgara Mahārāja’s entire life was one of humility and self-surrender. He continually engaged in the service of Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇavas while following Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s teaching tṛṇād api sunīcena, taror api sahiṣṇunā. Through his exemplary conduct, he presented an ideal of complete surrender to Guru and Vaiṣṇavas for the present devotees and devotees of future generations. May pūjyapāda Bhakti Rañjana Sāgara Mahārāja always bestow his auspicious and merciful glance upon us. This is our humble prayer at his divine feet.
Presented by
a few individuals who are captivated
by the qualities of the Vaiṣṇavas
Translated from Śrī Śrī Bhāgavata Patrikā,
Year-20 Issue 5-12
By the Rays of The Harmonist team
With gratitude to
Śrī Śyāmānanda dāsa Brahmacārī for providing content.
