The unique wisdom of Śrīla Bhakti Vigyan Bharati Maharaj

The unique wisdom of Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja
(By Srila Shyam Das Baba)

Such a wise personality is rare in our Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava society
Such a wise (knowledgeable) personality like Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja is rare in our Gauḍīya-sampradāya. We can remember about Sanātana Gosvāmīpāda, Śrīman Mahāprabhu said that— “Such a wise personality like Sanātana is rare in these three worlds.”

iṅhāra ye jyeṣṭha-bhrātā, nāma — ‘sanātana’
pṛthivīte vijña-vara nāhi tāṅra sama

(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya, Chapter One, sloka 200)

Śrīman Mahāprabhu speaking in front of Svarūpa Gosāi and Rāya Rāmānanda that–“The elder brother of Śrīla Rūpapāda, whose name is Sanātana, such a wise personality cannot be found in the whole world like him.”

Similarly, I would like to say that such a wise and experienced guru-sevaka like Śrīla Bhakti Vigyan Bharati Gosvāmī Maharaj is really rare, who could see past-present and future. If we can make a comb operation all over the world, then we cannot find such a unique personality like Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Any problem in our Vaiṣṇava society (samāj) could find a perfect solution by the advice and guidance of Śrīla Bhakti Vigyan Bharti Gosvāmī Maharaj.

His causeless mercy on me

Even in my own life I could realize his divine highness. If I claim that he used to love me very much, then this is nothing but one kind of self-advertisement, which is really improper, rather I should say that this was his own divine highness by the help of which always I could reach his lotus feet without any hesitation to get his full cooperation to accomplish any sevā (specially vāṇī-sevā) without any fault, because due to small age-that time my experience was limited, I mean enough maturity was not there with me.

Specially I can remember when I wanted to categorize all the writings of my paramahaṁsa Gurudeva Śrīla Bhakti Promode Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja (by that time all those writings were already published in Śrī Caitanya Vāṇī patrikā) into three categories, like sambandha–tattva, abhidheya-tattva and prayojana–tattva, then he was the main adviser to me.

Except that what all I wrote in my life–time to time, be it a protest note or any documentary book or any other writings like special articles etc. etc., then he was the first person to go through all those writings to give me inspiration to go ahead with such perfect–fire like siddhānta-vicāras of Śrīla Prabhupāda. I can never forget his unalloyed affection, so what I am today. Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja was known as a living encyclopedia of Gauḍīya Sarasvat Vaiṣṇava society.

Especially the two jewels of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha, like Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Bhakti Ballabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja, both of them can never be forgotten by the whole Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya for their exclusive mood of Śrī Caitanya vāṇī-sevā, under the guidance of Śrīla Bhakti Pramode Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja and the founder president ācārya of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha—Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja.

Also, many times I got the opportunity to go on a preaching mission with Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Bhakti Bhallabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja, according to their desire. At that time really, I used to feel very shy to speak hari-kathā in front of them. Of course, that kind of shyness was not due to my weakness but was due to their divine highness.

The outstanding Guru-Vaiṣṇava sevā mood of Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja

Externally there can be so many disciples of a Sad-Guru, but whom he can approve from heart, surely he is a snigdha-śiṣya. In a snigdha-śiṣya all the ācāra – ācaraṇa and siddhānta-vicāras of Śrīla Gurudeva can be seen reflected totally. So was the case with Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja very often used to say openly that—“Narottama Prabhu is an ideal brahmacārī and he never feels tired.”

Really due to his tireless efforts- it was possible to re-establish the āvirbhāva place of Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda at Śrī Puruṣottama-dhāma. Not only that, but also most of their society Maṭhas were possible only because of his tireless efforts. It is a fact that his Guru-Vaiṣṇava sevā mood was exclusive. He was selected as the secretary of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha for a lifetime period by Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja because of his exclusive wisdom and problem-solving capacity.

The desire for lābha-pūjā-pratiṣṭhā can never run together with the divine serving temperament, because this is quite impossible. When someone is going to avoid the divine serving mood, in that case surely, he is going to become busy with profit and loss account, because it is a must. So safely we can pass this kind of remark that—in his whole life he (Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja) was really less interested about lābha-pūjā-pratiṣṭhā, whereas that was not at all a difficult task for him to collect.

Thousands of people all around the world were ready to accept him as their spiritual master (Sad-Guru), because of his noble character and idealism. Many times, many people were in confusion, so they wanted to get it confirmed by Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja the actual relationship between he and Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, because apparently it seems that they are like father and son.

He was very expert in cooking sevā

I can remember one very special incident which happened long ago at Kalna Ananta Vāsudeva temple of my Guru-pāda-padma (paramahaṁsa Śrīla Bhakti Pramode Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja), when Śrīla Bhāratī Mahārāja took the complete responsibility of cooking for thousands of people on the occasion of Rādhāṣṭamī festival day, which was the most successful festival as per the opinion of Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja.

No arrangement was there for that great festival, even at the last moment Śrīla Bhāratī Mahārāja was bound to approach Śrīla Bhakti Pramode Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja to speak out the present situation. But Śrīla Mahārāja was given assurance by Śrīla paramahaṁsa Gurudeva (Śrīla Bhakti Pramode Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja) that everything can be arranged by the Supreme Lord shortly.

Really so, within half an hour all the arrangements of the festival were ready to start cooking. Śrīla Bhāratī Mahārāja (Narottama Brahmacārī) was the main sevaka of that great Rādhāṣṭamī festival. Everybody could remember the great glories of that Kheturī festival which was organized by Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura. As per Śrīla paramahaṁsa Gurudeva all the varieties of prasādams were so much tasteful, that all the devotees started dancing.

The extreme patency shown by Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja is the most important factor in the way of Gauḍīya bhajan
Out of my memory I like to quote one or two such exclusive incidents which can prove the above siddhānta-vicāra. Long ago when at Kumbha-melā spot Allahabad the preaching party of Śrī Caitanya Gauḍīya Maṭha was almost ready to start their divine preaching course under the guidance of Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Bhakti Pramode Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, at that time suddenly one letter came to them bearing the message of coming of Śrīla Bhakti Vicāra Yāyāvara Gosvāmī Mahārāja there to attend the function organized by Śrīla Mādhava Mahārāja.

Some brahmacārīs – they started feeling disturbance for his (Śrīla Yāyāvara Gosvāmī Mahārāja) accommodation due to his late coming, but Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja was very very happy to allow his own accommodation place to Śrīla Yāyāvara Gosvāmī Mahārāja to make those brahmacārīs tension free.

After Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja was gone from this material world, due to some internal problem of the society, most of the devotees of the society misunderstood Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja, but Śrīla Bhakti Vallabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja never misunderstood him, rather he used to say repeatedly that Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja is the fittest person to become ācārya, he is from a pure Brahmin heredity etc. etc. Their mutual love and respect is evergreen to us.

Once upon a time due to some unusual reason he was held up outside his room from morning to evening without changing wet cloth, because he was just back from bathroom, but still he didn’t lose his patience.

Gaura Hari Hari Bol