Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Jayatah!

I offer my humble obeisances at the lotus feet of my beloved Param Gurudeva, Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja. The following is my humble offering for his divine Centennial Vyasa-puja.

Although I was not fortunate enough to personally meet my Srila Parama Gurudeva, Nitya lila Pravist Om Visnupada Astottara- sata Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja Ji, through reading a few of his books, hearing from and associating with a few of his beautiful Grihastha, Sannyasa and grand disciples and being able to daily listen to his nectarean Hari Katha by the mercy of the Audio Seva team, I feel a strong connection to him.

It is so mind blowing, how in almost every one of his Hari Katha's, he can start with speaking on the most basic instructions such as Vaco Vegam, Manasah Krodha Vegam (Sri Upadesamrta verse 1) and yet somehow always lead to our goal of Vraja Bhakti, specifically that unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam, the mood of serving as a palya dasi of Srimati Radhika, that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to give.

My Guru Maharaja ji, Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Sidddhanti Maharaja often says that its only due to Srila Gurudeva's mercy that if one asks even a 6-year-old child in our sanga in any part of the world, "what is the goal of life" and they will immediately respond "Radha Dasyam".

By his causeless mercy, he instilled in us this greed to one day have this, even though right now we have no qualification for this. He would often use the analogy of Sri Narahari seva vigraha prabhu, when he was sick with terrible indigestion and his gut couldn't hold anything, yet the doctor advised him to continuously take ghee, because each time he did this, even though most of it will go out, something would stick and that strengthened his gut.

Similarly, by him speaking these confidential topics to us with proper siddhanta and also filled with rasa, over and over again, even though someone like me, who has no capacity to hold this, something will stick and it will make me stronger, so that one day in some lifetime I will be able to hold a little of it.

I recently heard one of Srila Gurudeva's classes where he made a statement that for me sums up his causeless mercy on the jivas of this world: "These days many are scared to speak these topics, but even I should go to hell, no harm, but they should all have Raganuga Bhakti."

How can one not give themselves to the service of a personality like this! Such mercy and compassion

I pray that by trying to follow the instructions given in his books and divine Harikatha and by serving his dear disciples, he will one day accept me as his own.

Aspiring for the service of Sri Guru, Hari and Vaisnavas,

Braj Kisora Das
(Disciple of Sripad BV Siddhanti Maharaja)