Just see Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura’s sayutha niṣṭhā (niṣṭhā for his guru-varga). Does anyone ordinarily speak like this, with so much resoluteness? But Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura did. On one hand, Vaiṣṇavas are causelessly merciful even to the caṇḍālas and on the other they are not even willing to see the face of anyone who is averse to Nityānanda. This is simply niṣṭhā in Nityānanda and we can get such niṣṭhā only by hearing of their...

Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī settled in a village called Cāṁpāhāṭī. It is known as the Śrīpāṭa of Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī. We pay our respects there during the Navadvīpa parikramā. Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī would make garlands using campaka flowers and offer them to his worshipable Deity, Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava.

Today is Pūjyapāda Bhakti Vaibhava Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s tirobhāva tithi. Although he appeared in a lineage of high-class kavirājas (expert Ayurvedic doctor), he chose to become a maṭha-vāsī. He took sannyāsa from Pūjyapāda Bhakti Sarvasva Giri Gosvāmī Mahārāja at Āśrama Mahārāja’s bhajana-kuṭīra in Māyāpura. UNFAILING COMMITMENT TO BRINGING PRASĀDA Śrīla Mahārāja used to stay in the Kovūra Maṭha and each time we would...

Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was serving the Lord in the form of a śālagrāma. Upon seeing the śṛṅgāra of Rādhā Govinda-deva of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Madana-mohana of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī lamented within his mind, “I have a śālagrāma. So there is no provision to do any śṛṅgāra.” When he thought thus, that night itself, the Deity form of Śrī Rādhā Ramaṇa appeared out of that śālagrāma. Bhagavān...

Just after his marriage, Śrīla Rāmacandra Kavirāja was following in a grand procession wherein people praised the couple for appearing as beautiful as Indra-Indrāṇi or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. However, when Śrīla Śrīnivāsa Ācārya saw [the procession], instead of praising the couple he became highly afflicted, thinking of the bridegroom becoming entangled in the material world. Realizing this, Śrīla Rāmacandra Kavirāja [the bridegr...

Śrīla Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja used to say, “I am not the master of anything or anyone. I am only a servant. As long as my godbrothers accept my service, I will give it. Should they no longer be interested in receiving it, I will see who will give me shelter and stay over there.” A few of his teachings The following are a few of Śrīla Santa Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s teachings that left an indelible impression on my heart: In ord...

Bhagavān engages His devotee in service in order to bestow His mercy. Is He bereft of anything? Does He feel hungry? Even though Bhagavān is pūrṇa vastu (complete in Himself), He is hungry for the love of His devotees. To manifest the love of Jagadīśa Paṇḍita for Him and proclaim it to the world, Lord Jagannātha requested Jagadīśa Paṇḍita to take Him along and serve Him. He willingly left a place where He was getting multi...

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī happened to meet that dig-vijayī [who insisted that Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī also sign the jaya-patra admitting defeat. However Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī decided to tame the dig-vijayī paṇḍita in a debate] Overwhelmed by his defeat, that dig-vijayī paṇḍita couldn’t help but pass stool. [In this way, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī preserved the integrity of his spiritual master’s reputation and demonstrated the ideal behavior...

After Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance, Śrī Nani-gopāla Brahmacārī remained under the guidance of Śrīla Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who awarded him sannyāsa and gave him the name Śrīmad Bhakti Saurabha Bhaktisāra Gosvāmī Mahārāja. He became the editor of Śrī Sārasvata Gauḍīya, a monthly magazine published by Śrī Gauḍīya Saṅgha, the institution Śrīla Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Mahārāja established. By authoring many articl...

Śrīla Māheśa Paṇḍita renounced his home and wandered in different places until settling in Kāṭhālapurī. So today is the tirobhāva tithi of Śrīla Māheśa Paṇḍita, and there they still celebrate a festival. Because of Śrīla Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura, the entire of gold-merchant community got liberated and attained the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu. He established the worship of the six-armed form of Mahāprabhu (Ṣaḍbhuja Gaurāṅga)...

Śrīla Aranya Gosvāmī Mahārāja never took a break from chanting the names of Śrī Hari, speaking Śrī Hari’s glories and pastimes, or serving Śrī Hari. He was fully engaged in these activities for all twenty-four hours of the day. Without fail, he would ask all those who approached him a question pertaining to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava philosophy. He spared no one in this. Somehow or other, he would always initiate a spiritual discuss...

Actually, Devānanda Paṇḍita is a nitya pariṣada (eternal associate) of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But only to give us these teachings, he has enacted such pastimes. From Devānanda Paṇḍita’s pastime, we get to learn that no matter how many material qualities one may be adorned with, it does not guarantee development of bhakti. Initially, Devānanda Paṇḍita served the grantha bhāgavata but not bhakta bhāgavata. [Thus he had no...

Being proficient in Sanskrit, he made substantial literary contribution. He served as an editor of ‘Bhāgavata patrikā’ (a bilingual monthly in Hindi & Sanskrit), published by the Naimiśaranya Maṭha, Lucknow. He would correspond in Sanskrit for any comments or queries posed in Sanskrit by the readers. He also wrote extensively for ‘Śrī Gauḍīya Pratrikā’, published by Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha [established by Śrīla Bhakti...

NIṢṬHĀ IN ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA During the manifest presence of Śrīla Prabhupāda, if any family members of the brahmacarīs would come to the maṭha to take them back home, they would be directed to Śrī Rūpa Vilāsa dāsa, who would convincingly make them understand [that it was beneficial for their sons to stay in the maṭha]. When his own family members came to take him, the others said, “If Prabhupāda says, then he can go back.”...

When pūjyapāda Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Mahārāja first came to the maṭha as a young boy, his mother put him under the care of Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī (later known as Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja), and he attended the Bhaktivinoda Institute for schooling. After some time, when Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura disappeared from this world, some disturbances arose in the maṭha, and Śrī...