Introduction

I would like to begin by first offering my respectful obeisances to my Dīkṣā-guru, His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Mahārāj Prabhupād and my Sannyās-guru, His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj, the author of this book. These two great Mahābhāgavatas as well as His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj have given me shelter and a chance to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Although I am very fallen and helpless and full of faults, they have been kind and given their valuable energy to me as well as to so many others. I can only pray that one day I may at least come close to trying to do some service for them.

This book is an inadequate attempt to show a small part of the vast treasure of transcendental knowledge His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj has been imparting to the world for the past eighteen years. Most know that Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj was personally given charge of Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj’s Mission before his departure from this world. Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj said publicly in 1985 that Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj has tirelessly and wholeheartedly assisted in the duties of organising and developing his Maṭh, and also in the duties of establishing and developing other Maṭhs, as well as arranging many donors for these Maṭhs. He said he has provided much encouragement to even himself in managing and maintaining his Maṭh and is naturally disposed to serve the Maṭh and its residents, and that he is always endeavouring for the progressive development of Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh. Above all, Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj said Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj is well-known and unanimously acclaimed as being firmly established in the philosophy of the perfect axiomatic truth of bhakti as propounded by both himself as well as his divine master, Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur Prabhupād.

Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj has shown this to be the truth as he has spread this perfect transcendental knowledge of bhakti as he learned from his Guru Mahārāj.

Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj has been on twenty-four world tours (as of this writing) where he has met with sincere seekers and distinguished persons from all walks of life, and he preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness vigorously everywhere he went. He has appeared on weekly internet radio broadcasts as well as regular radio and TV shows for the past ten years, and under his direction and inspiration over seventy centres of Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh have been established in over forty countries. 350 books and related articles in over twenty languages have been published under his direction establishing the perfect conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness that he has carried from his Guru Mahārāj. By his influence, so many sincere souls suffering under the horrible influence of Kali-yuga now have a chance to take shelter under the cooling rays of the Supreme Lord’s lotus feet.

In 1941 Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj wrote a śloka and hoisted a large flag atop a tall bamboo pole in his Maṭh, which was just a small thatched hut at that time. That śloka forecast the future glories of Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh and said one day they would be sung all over the world:

śrīmach-chaitanya-sārasvata-maṭha-vara udgīta-kīrtir jayaśrīṁ
bibhrat saṁbhāti gaṅgā-taṭa-nikaṭa navadvīpa-kolādrirāje
yatra śrī-gaura-sārasvata-mata-niratā gaura-gāthā gṛṇanti
nityaṁ rūpānuga-śrī-kṛtamati guru-gaurāṅga-rādhājitāśā

At that time, some of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj’s godbrothers chided him by saying he had only a small Maṭh with a few buildings and a few devotees, so how, they said, would the glories of his Maṭh be heard all over the world?

Now due to Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj’s unflinching spirit of self-sacrifice and complete dedication to his Guru Mahārāj, he has successfully established the supreme conception of his Guru Mahārāj in all parts of the world so those with a clean heart and desirous of real spiritual life can practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. Due to his grace, the sun never sets on Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh, and the flag that Śrīla Guru Mahārāj hoisted in 1941 waves in the favorable breezes on every continent.

Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj is the real hidden treasure of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj and our entire sampradāya. By his causeless mercy, he is attracting the entire world and inspiring everyone from all walks of life and countries to chant the Holy Names of the Lord. From the North Pole to the South Pole and on every continent, the sun is never setting on his divine conception. It is said Śrīla Prabhupād built a house in which the whole world could live. Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj has built a temple for Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīman Mahāprabhu in which the whole world can worship and thus get free from the hard knot of material life that is so strongly trapping the jīva-souls in this age. He has strung a garland of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa around the world and made the world more beautiful by it.

When we hear Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj speak about the Lord’s Pastimes or for that matter about any subject, we are reminded of the third śloka of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam which says:

nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayaṁ
muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ

“The subject matter of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is very sweet because it deals with Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes, but those Pastimes have been made even sweeter because they were spoken by Śrīla Śukadev Goswāmī.”

I hope we can see in this book that the sweet nature of Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes are made even sweeter because they come through the lotus lips of Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj. Śrīla Guru Mahārāj said Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj is a natural paramahaṁsa. He is taking the sweet fruits of Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes and making them even sweeter and more relishable by adding his own sweet nature to them.

In 1955, when Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Mahārāj Prabhupād received the first copy of the Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan magazine published by Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj, he commented that Govinda Mahārāj was a “transcendental humorist”, and “people would like to read articles written by him with great relish because they are not only instructive but also amusing.” I hope the reader will find this book both instructive and amusing.

The preface is a Bengali poem, Your Fearless Lotus Feet, written by Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj in 1957 for the glorification of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj on the occasion of his Śrī Vyāsa Pūjā. In this poem we are shown the perfect spirit of dedication and devotion an expert disciple has for his Guru as well as the perfect example of humility a disciple should have for his spiritual master. The poem also shows the deep insight into the higher siddhānta that Śrīla Guru Mahārāj said Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj was so expert in and that comes so naturally to him. Guru Mahārāj said he was a natural paramahaṁsa, and this is evident in this poem.

In Part One, he explains the gist of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s supreme conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness based on the śloka ārādhyo Bhagavān Vrajeśa-tanayas Tad-dhāma Vṛndāvanam composed by Śrīla Viśvanāth Chakravartī Ṭhākur. Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj takes this śloka and adds new life and a beautiful meaning to it just as he does with so many ślokas. He explains and shows by logical reasoning how the Absolute Truth is a person, not an impersonal void or an abstract entity, and that person is Śrī Kṛṣṇa whose land is Vṛndāvan Dhām, the highest plane in the spiritual world. In Vṛndāvan Dhām, all the residents worship Kṛṣṇa with great devotion but in different moods such as śānta-rasa, passive; dāsya-rasa, servitorship; sakhya-rasa, friendship; vātsalya-rasa, parental relation; and madhura-rasa, conjugal love, which is divided in two parts: wedded and paramour. The highest worship is shown by the Vraja-gopīs, and this is thoroughly explained in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam which is the supreme scripture recommended by Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj gives us this conception in a very beautiful, simple, and straightforward manner and adds new life by drawing on many beautiful ślokas from different scriptures to paint a picture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness as only a true transcendental poet can do.

In Part Two, he takes us deeper into the subject matter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and shows us beyond a doubt that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the emporium of all rasa, the Akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrtiḥ, by presenting a fascinating description of His sweet Pastimes, His wonderful associates, His transcendental flute, and His exquisite beauty, based on ślokas from Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta (Madhya-līlā, 23.82–3):

sarvādbhuta-chamatkāra-līlā-kallola-vāridhiḥ
atulya-madhura-prema-maṇḍita-priya-maṇḍalaḥ
tri-jagan-mānasākarṣi-muralī-kala-kūjitaḥ
asamānordhva-rūpa-śrī-vismāpita-charācharaḥ

But before he does this, he cautions us in Chapter Four to first hear about Kṛṣṇa consciousness in a step-by-step process from a bona fide spiritual master. He says a bona fide spiritual master will not instruct his disciple in the higher Pastimes of the Lord in the beginning. When a spiritual master sees a disciple is ready to hear about those higher Pastimes, then he will instruct him, not before. If we don’t follow this caution, we will get only “imitation Pastimes” or an “imitation diamond” as he says. We won’t get the real thing.

Throughout the book, Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj stresses the importance of worshipping Kṛṣṇa and shows us that the real way to worship Him is through Rādhā-dāsyam, service to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And the way to worship Her is through Śrī Gurudev who is the embodiment of Rādhārāṇī in the highest aspect, and of Nityānanda Prabhu in a little lower form. We get this knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness through the descending process beginning with Kṛṣṇa Himself who spoke it to Lord Brahmā. This was passed on to Nārad and Vyāsadev and ultimately to our Gurudev, His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj. The knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always descending through the hearts of the pure souls, and we can understand where a pure soul is by seeing “the shining lightbulb of transcendental knowledge that is burning in his pure heart”. This is the knowledge given by Vedavyās, Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur, Śrīla Guru Mahārāj, Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Mahārāj, and now Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj.

The theme of the book is vidvadbhiḥ sevitaḥ sadbhir nityam adveṣa-rāgibhiḥ, hṛdayenābhyanujñāto yo dharmas taṁ nibhodata: that real religion extends from the infinite quarter, and when it comes to the finite, it will always come through those who are proficient in the scriptures, advanced in their realisations, and deeply dedicated in their service. It cannot be man-made. It is coming from the highest quarter, and those who carry it are also from that plane.

We are very fortunate Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj is presenting the proper conception of Śrīman Mahāprabhu as he heard it from his Guru Mahārāj, adding his own deep realisations and sweet nature to this, and we are even more fortunate that he can present it in a clear and straightforward manner, as only a great teacher and devotee can do. And we are even more fortunate he is going all over the world, even in his ill health, trying heart and soul to give this great wealth to everyone who wants it.

In trying to make this book as an offering to His Divine Grace Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj, I am sure I have committed errors, for which I am asking everyone’s forgiveness.

I am from a very low born, sinful, and offensive family where I was taught it is all right to engage in sinful and offensive activities; therefore, I am a very fallen person and not qualified to do any service to Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj.

Śrīla Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī said he was lower than the worms in stool:

jagāi mādhāi haite muñi se pāpiṣṭha
purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha

I feel lower than them because at least they have a position in this world. However, due to my offenses to my Gurudev and the Vaiṣṇavas, I cannot be counted amongst the living or the dead.

Myself being in such a position, how is it possible this book has been so well received by His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj? I can only consider that any success has come from this endeavor due to his own causeless mercy and the grace of the devotees who have helped, such as Śrīpād Sāgar Mahārāj, Śrīpād Goswāmī Mahārāj, Śrīpād Tridaṇḍī Mahārāj, Bhuvana Mohan Prabhu, Mahānanda Prabhu, Jagadānanda Prabhu, Viśākhā Devī Dāsī, and others too numerous to mention.

Knowing this book to have appeared by the grace of the Vaiṣṇavas, I offer with my whole heart this second edition to the lotus hands of His Divine Grace Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj.