Guru Devatatma - Accepting Sri Guru as One's Life and Soul

On the auspicious day of Mauni Amavasya1921 Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja took his divine birth in devout Vaisnava family in tiwaripura, in the state of Bihar, India.

In February 1946, he met his gurudeva, Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Goswami Maharaja, and his life of complete and exemplary dedication to serving his gurudeva, in the line of Sri caitanya mahaprabhu, began.

He accompanied his gurudeva on his extensive preaching tours throughout India, actively assisting him in propagating the teaching of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for the eternal benefit of the living entities in this world. This included regularly hosting the thousands of pilgrims attending the yearly circumambulation of Sri Navadvipa dhama the appearance place of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

His gurudeva had instructed him to translate the writings of prominent Gaudiya Vaisnavas into Hindi, a task his assiduously assumed throughout his entire life. These invaluable masterpieces are currently being translated into English and other major languages of the world, along with transcriptions of his English lectures.

By the order of his siksa guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja travelled twice around the world each year, preaching the message of Krsna consciousness and pure love.

In early December of 2002, he began his preaching tour in murwillumbah, Australia. On the last day of his stay there, he requested that the lectures he had given on the subject of gurutattva be published as a booklet. A month later, in mind January of 2003 in Hilo Hawaii, he gave two more lectures on the same topic, and requested that they be added to the booklet.

While in Hilo, Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, our Srila Gurudeva address the doubt regarding the necessity of receiving diksa mantras from the bona fide guru. The transcription of that discourse is presented as the last chapter of this booklet.

We offer unlimited obeisance’s and gratitude to our most worshipable Srila Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja renowned throughout the world as Srila Prabhupada, for first manifesting Krsna consciousness in the Western world. He has also manifested the Sanskrit verses, English translations our previous acarya commentaries, and his own Bhaktivedanta purports to vedic literatures like Srimad bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya caritamrta. By his mercy therefore, we were able to reference all the scriptural quotes given in Srila Gurudeva’s lectures.

Moreover, besides Srila Svami Maharaja’s giving the Vedic scriptures and their deep meanings to the English speaking world and also arranging for their translation in over fifty foreign languages, he is personification of those ancient texts. Sri guru is the embodiment of all the scriptures. Before leaving the vision of this world in 1977, he requested our Srila Gurudeva, his intimate friend and siksa disciple, to continue his mission.