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Sri Srimad Gaura-Kishora-namaskara Dasakam

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Sri Srimad Gaura Kisor Das Babaji Maharaj

Composed by Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj

guror guro me paramo gurus tvam
varenya! gauranga-ganagraganye
prasida bhrtye dayitasrite te
namo namo gaura-kisora tubhyam [1]

O Divine Master of my Divine Master, my most venerable preceptor, you are supremely worshippable in the group of the foremost associates of Sri Gauranga. May you be gracious upon this servitor surrendered unto your loving servitor (Dayita Dasa). O Gaura Kisora, again and again do I make my obeisance unto you.

sarasvati-nama-jagat-prasiddham
prabhum jagatyam patitaika-bandhum
tvam eva deva! prakati-cakara
namo namo gaura-kisora tubhyam [2]

O worshipful one, you alone revealed my Lord and Master, who is renowned throughout the universe as Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati, and who is the only friend of the fallen souls of the world. O Gaura Kisora, again and again do I make my obeisance unto you.

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Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.32

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अहो भाग्यमहो भाग्यं नन्दगोपव्रजौकसाम् ।
यन्मित्रं परमानन्दं पूर्णं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ॥ ३२ ॥

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ
nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām
yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ
pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam

Synonyms
aho — what great; bhāgyam — fortune; aho — what great; bhāgyam — fortune; nanda — of Mahārāja Nanda; gopa — of the other cowherd men; vraja-okasām — of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi; yat — of whom; mitram — the friend; parama-ānandam — the supreme bliss; pūrṇam — complete; brahma — the Absolute Truth; sanātanam — eternal.

Translation
How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend.

Short shastra’s summary

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Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu’s Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu

Sraddha (1) Faith in the scriptures’ meaning, developed by hearing the scriptures from the sadhus.
Sadhu-sanga (2) Taking shelter at the feet of Sri Guru to learn the practice of bhajan.
Bhajana-kriya (3) Practising hearing, chanting, and other forms of service according to Sri Guru and the sadhus’ instructions.
Anartha-nivrtti (4) Removing sins, misconceptions, sorrows, and so forth, which are opposed to the ultimate goal of life.
Nistha (5) Constant, undeviating service.
Ruchi (6) Insightful desire for the Lord and His service.
Asakti (7) Natural attraction to the Lord and His service.
Bhava (8) That which melts the heart with divine attraction to the Lord and His service; the rays from the sun of prema.
Prema (9) Intense bhava that completely melts the heart and fills one with intense affectionate attachment.

The Sixty-Four Practices of Devotion
(Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s Amrta-pravaha-bhasya on Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta)

(1) Taking shelter at Sri Guru’s feet.
(2) Accepting initiation
(3) Serving Sri Guru

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Of what type of guru should we take shelter?

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Amrta Vani

Q&A by Gaudiya Gosthipati Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakura Prabhupada

Q: Of what type of guru should we take shelter?

A: If I am fortunate enough, I will take shelter of a spiritual master who always worships Hari. I should surrender to a spiritual master who is cent percent engaged in the Lord’s service. Otherwise, unable to follow his ideal example, I will not be able to engage myself cent percent in the Lord’s service. A person devoid of proper etiquette, a platform speaker, or a professional priest cannot become guru. If we receive such a spiritual master, unfortunately, we cannot learn to worship Hari. A spiritual master must be free from material desire, self-controlled, well conversant with scripture, and self-realized. Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.3.21) states:

tasmad gurum prapadyeta, jijndsuh sreya uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam, brahmany upasamasrayam

“Therefore, any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.”

Who is endowed with prema for his own masters

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vinā bhavet kiṁ hari-dāsa-varya-
padāśrayaṁ bhaktir ataḥ śrayāmi |
yam eva saprema nijeśayoḥ śrī-
govardhano me diśatām abhīṣṭam ||

(Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s Govardhanāṣṭakam: 8)

“Does bhakti ever manifest without the shelter of the feet the best of Hari’s servants [i.e., Govardhana], who is endowed with prema for his own masters [i.e., Rādhā and Mādhava]?
[Never.] Therefore, I take shelter in him. May Govardhana fulfill my desire [for prema-sevā to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava].”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaching us

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Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaching us:

bhakta ashirvada prabhu shire kari’ laya
bhakta-ashirvade se krishnete bhakti haya

The Lord accepted the devotees’ blessings on His head, for devotional service to Lord Krishna is attained only by the blessings of devotees.

COMMENTARY

Although the Lord is the only sovereign master of the fourteen worlds, He nevertheless accepted on His head the blessings of His devotees. The devotees’
blessings are so powerful that by their influence even a living entity who is averse to Krishna becomes attached to His lotus feet.

CB Adi-khanda 12.47

How can we achieve mental strength?

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Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur PrabhupadaWe are weak and need to become mentally strong. Our mental condition will become stronger if we faithfully hear krsna-katha from living devotees. It is not possible to strengthen our mental state without associating with devotees.

Amrta Vani of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakura Prabhupada

The Embodiment of Tranquility

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Parivrājakāchārya Tridaṇḍi Swāmī Śrīpād Bhakti Vichār Jājāvar Goswami Mahārāj

Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj glorifies Śrīmad Bhakti Vichār Jājāvar Mahārāj.

Excerpted and translated from a Bengali article
originally published in Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan,
Volume 1, Issue 10, Thursday, 10 May 1956

Amongst the renunciants who received Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur’s mercy directly, Śrīpād Bhakti Vichār Jājāvar Mahārāj was the last sannyāsī.

Although discussion of a renunciant’s previous history is generally forbidden, in special cases discussing their holy life benefits the world; such discussion is always appropriate for this noble purpose. We also desire to purify ourselves by briefly discussing the most holy life of Śrīpād Bhakti Vichār Jājāvar Mahārāj. We have faith that the readers of Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan will also be greatly benefited by this.

Almost forty-eight years ago, Gauḍīya Āchārya Śrīmad Bhakti Vichār Jājāvar Mahārāj appeared on the second tithi of the waxing fortnight in the month of Vaiśākh (the day before Akṣaya Tṛtīya) in the pious home of the virtuous brāhmaṇ Śrīyukta Padmalochan Śarmā Mahoday in the town of Durmuth within Kā̐thi Mahakumār in the district of Medinīpur. His name, given by his father, was Śrī Sarveśvar Śarmā. His father Śrī Padmalochan Śarmā was indifferent to worldly matters and enthusiastic about discussion of scripture. He would often strongly encourage his son and other family members to engage in meditation on higher truths and thought of the self. Personally he engaged in the Lord’s service at almost every moment. Śrī Sarveśvar’s mother was naturally simple, pious, and dedicated to pure devotion. She later, following her sādhu son, accepted initiation into the line of Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur.

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From Sri Prema Bhakti Candrika

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of Srila Narottam Das Thakur

anyabhilasitasunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanusilanaµm bhaktir uttama

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favourably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11)

anya abhilasa chari, jnana-karma parihari,
kayamane koribo bhajana
sadhu-sange krsna-seba, na pujibo devi deva,
ei bhakti parama karana

Giving up all desires for the path of jnana and karma, I shall engage my mind and body in bhajana. In the association of the Vaisnavas, Krsna’s seva should be performed without the worship of any other deva or devi. This is the cause of parama-bhakti.

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Sri Narottama Prabhor Ashtakam

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Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur

sri-krishna-namamrita-varshi-vaktra-
chandra-prabha-dhvasta-tamo-bharaya
gauranga-devanucharaya tasmai
namo namah srila narottamaya [1]

Again and again I offer my obeisance unto Sri Gaurangadev’s servant Srila Narottam Thakur, who dispels all darkness with the lustre of his moon-like face by showering the nectar of Sri Krishna-nam.

sankirtananandaja-manda-hasya
danta-dyuti-dyotita-dinmukhaya
svedasru-dhara-snapitaya tasmai
namo namah srila narottamaya [2]

When he gently smiles with the joy of Nam-sankirtan, the lustre of his teeth illuminates the directions, and he bathes in streams of perspiration and tears. Again and again I offer my obeisance unto Srila Narottam Thakur.

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