Parishads: Srila Gaura Kishora das Babaji

Vamshi Das’s parents had him married at an early age according to the custom of the time, but always remained detached from householder life. His main interest was always worshiping the Lord. When his wife died, he left home and went to Vrindavan where he took the paramahamsa-vesha from Bhagavata Das Babaji (a disciple of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj) and took the name Gaura Kishora Das Babaji.

In 1893, when the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was inaugurated at the Sri Mayapur Yoga Pith, Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj ordered him to stay in Nabadwip. This is where Gaura Kishora remained for the rest of his life. He saw all the residents of Nabadwip with transcendental eyes, considering them to be divine beings. He thus accepted madhukari from them, cooking everything in a rejected clay bowl. It is said that sometimes he would subsist on nothing but Ganges water and mud. Sometimes he would go for long periods without eating, chanting the Holy Names constantly. He set the standard for those in the renounced order who live the life of solitary worship, remaining completely independent of others. Mahaprabhu’s personal envoy, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur was extremely impressed by Gaura Kishora’s extraordinary renunciation, his pure devotion and his attachment to the Lord. Gaura Kishora would often go to Bhaktivinoda’s home in Godrumadvipa, Svananda-sukhada-kuïja, where he would listen to him give readings of the Bhagavat and discuss Vaishnava theology with him.

In 1898 AD, Gaura Kishora Das Babaji Maharaj met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur for the first time at Svananda-sukhad-kuïja in Godrumadvipa. Saraswati Thakur was enchanted by Babaji Maharaj’s heartfelt emotional kirtan. He wrote the kirtan down and later taught it to his own disciples. The song describes Raghunath Das Goswami’s ecstatic separation from Radha.

kothay go premamayi radhe radhe
radhe radhe go, jaya radhe radhe
dekha diye prana rakha radhe radhe
tomara kangala tomaya dake radhe radhe
radhe vrindavana-vilasini radhe radhe
radhe kanu-mano-mohini radhe radhe
radhe ashta-sakhira shiromani radhe radhe
radhe vrishabhanu-nandini radhe radhe
(gosaïi) niyama kare sadai dake radhe radhe
(gosaïi) ekabara dake keshi-ghate radhe radhe
abara dake vamshi-bate radhe radhe
(gosaïi) ekabara dake nidhuvane radhe radhe
abara dake kuïja-vane radhe radhe
(gosaïi) ekabara dake radhakunde radhe radhe
abara dake shyama-kunde radhe radhe
(gosaïi) ekabara dake kusuma-vane radhe radhe
abara dake govardhane radhe radhe
(gosaïi) ekabara dake tala-vane radhe radhe
abara dake tamala-vane radhe radhe
(gosaïi) maline vasana diye gaya,
vrajera dhulaya gariagarii jaya, radhe radhe
(gosaïi) mukhe radha radha bale
bhese nayanera jale, radhe radhe
(gosaïi) vrindavane kulakuli
kende beriaya radha bali, radhe radhe
(gosaïi) chapanna danda ratri dine, jane na
radha-govinda bine, radhe radhe
tara para cari danda shuti thake svapne
radha-govinda dekhe, radhe radhe

Raghunath Das Goswami regularly, constantly calls out to you, Radha. He calls for you in Keshi Ghat, in Vamshi Bata, Nidhuvana, Kuïjavana, in Radha Kund and Shyama Kund, in Kusumavana and Govardhana, in Talavana and Tamalavana. He calls out wearing only a worn and dirty cloth and rolling in the Vrindavan dust. The names of Radha on his lips, his eyes are filled with tears. He wanders through every part of Vraja, calling Radha’s name. Night or day, for twenty-three hours he thinks of nothing but Radha and Govinda, and when he sleeps, he dreams of Radha and Govinda.

The story is told that Srila Prabhupada asked Gaura Kishora Das Babaji Maharaj several times to give him initiation. The first time he asked, Babaji Maharaj told him, “If Mahaprabhu tells me to, I will.”

The second time Babaji Maharaj told him that he had forgotten to ask Mahaprabhu. Srila Prabhupada did not give up and came a third time, Babaji Maharaj said, “Virtuousness, scholarship and other qualities are not the means to attain the Lord. They do not give you any right to initiation.”

Though he had been turned back by Gaura Kishora Das Babaji repeatedly, Srila Prabhupada did not abandon his resolution. Ramanujacharya was turned back eighteen times before receiving the mercy of Goshthipurna. Srila Prabhupada showed his qualities of patience and determination continued to come to Babaji Maharaj, humbly entreating him to give him initiation until finally his heart melted and out of great affection mercifully initiated Srila Prabhupada by sprinkling the dust of his lotus feet on his head.

Gaura Kishora Das Babaji would never allow any materialistic persons to touch his feet. If they did so, he would make a show of anger, saying, “You are doomed!” Most people were thus afraid to attempt it. On this occasion, however, he himself offered the dust of his feet to his dear disciple and smeared it on his body. From Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, it is heard that he was turned back twelve times before Babaji Maharaj became compassionate and initiated him at his thirteenth request. Others say that it happened on the fourth time. This story reminds one of Narottama’s initiation by Lokanatha Goswami. Unswerving dedication to the guru is the sign of a disciple. Afterward, Babaji Maharaj, judging Srila Prabhupada to be eminently qualified for the task, blessed him and ordered him to preach Mahaprabhu’s message all around the world.

Srila Prabhupada further wrote, “Many people who saw Gaura Kishora Das Babaji, whether innocent or experienced, young or old, learned or ignorant, or proud of their being advanced devotees, were not able to truly see him. This is the divine power of Krishna’s devotees. Hundreds of people came to him seeking help in fulfilling their material desires and he would give them advice, but this was a kind of deception. There are countless persons who take on the dress of a saintly person and make a show of acting like a saintly person, but on closer analysis are far from the standard. My Prabhu was not a cheater like them. It is clear from his spiritual activities that he identified complete honesty with the truth. His sincere affection was incomparable; it proved that the attainment of spiritual powers is a deception. He showed no enmity for those who opposed him or disagreed with him; similarly, he made no particular external show of affection for those who were objects of his compassion. He used to say, ‘I neither love nor hate anyone in this world; everyone is the object of my respect.’

“Amazingly, Prabhu would be surrounded by people with no understanding, fakers and materialists inimical to the path of pure devotion who thought themselves to be recipients of such a saintly person’s mercy, but continued to engage in sensual activities. Prabhu never openly rejected any of these people, but he never openly accepted any of them, either.”

On the 30th of Karttik in 1322 (Bengali ’ 1915 AD), Paramahamsa Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji entered the eternal pastimes of the Lord. At the time, he was residing at Ranira Dharma-shala in Kuliya. When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur received the news of his disappearance, he was overcome with feelings of separation from his guru and immediately hurried to the site of his departure. He was heart-broken to see that mahantas (abbots) of various akharias (ashramas) were busily arguing about where and how to bury his body. The idea of the Babajis was to lay claim to any future samadhi temple as such a temple would be an attractive pilgrimage site and a possible source of money-making. Srila Prabhupada alone stood up and spoke out against this rascaldom. As things heated up, Nabadwip’s chief of police, Jatindranath Singh Ray Bahadur, came to maintain the peace.

At that time, Srila Prabhupada had not yet taken tridandi sannyas. The Babajis argued that as they had taken the renounced order, they had the right to perform the last rites for one of their order. As this was not the case for Srila Prabhupada, he had no rights. Srila Prabhupada displayed his spiritual strength and stated that he was Babaji Maharaj’s one and only disciple. He then asked them if there was any amongst them who had not had illicit sexual relations in the previous six months, or even in the previous three months, or one month, or even in the previous three days. He who had so done would be doomed if he touched Babaji Maharaj’s divine remains.

When he heard Srila Prabhupada make this challenge, Jatindra Babu asked how anyone could prove whether or not he had had illicit sexual relations. Srila Prabhupada answered that he would take anyone who came forward at his word. When the Babajis looked at the effulgence of pure spiritual practice emanating from Srila Prabhupada, they slowly slunk away, one by one. The chief of police was embarrassed at this sight and he paid his obeisances to Srila Prabhupada and then left himself.

Some residents of Kuliya told Srila Prabhupada what Babaji Maharaj had said about his last desires. Apparently, he had stated that he wished his body to be dragged through the streets of Nabadwip so that it would be covered by the dust of the holy dham. Srila Prabhupada replied, “This is my gurudeva. Even Krishna is honored to carry him on his shoulders and carries him like a crown upon his head. He said these things to confound the pride of the materialists with his humility. We may be inexperienced fools and offenders, but we should still make an effort to understand his intention. When Hari Das Thakur entered his eternal pastimes, Lord Gauranga took his body to his chest and danced with it. What a precedent he set for honoring the perfected soul’s departure! We would rather follow Mahaprabhu’s example and carry Siddha Baba’s divine remains on our head.”

On the first day of Agrahayan in Kuliya’s Nutana Caria, Srila Prabhupada performed the samadhi rites for Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji according to Vaishnava Smriti injunctions. A certain Poddar Mahashaya of Lohagaria in Jessore district gave the land for the samadhi, renouncing any claims on the property. Later, however, he reneged on his promise and came to live there himself and engaged in various illicit activities on the site. During the Ganges floods one season, the samadhi temple was washed into the river. On the 5th of Bhadra, 1339 Bengali (1932 AD) Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur retrieved some of his remains from the Ganges bed and took them to the Chaitanya Math where he established a samadhi temple on the banks of Radha Kund. The site was consecrated on the 2nd of Ashvina, 1339 and in the course of time, a small temple housing a murti of Gaura Kishora Das Babaji was constructed there. The murti’s nitya-seva has continued ever since.

(1) On one occasion, a certain babaji came to visit Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji with some of his followers in tow. These acolytes began glorifying their guru to Babaji Maharaj, “Our Prabhu is so merciful. He takes so much trouble to travel from place to place to deliver the poor, fallen souls. If he did not travel, what would be the destiny of these forsaken places?” Babaji Maharaj immediately became cross and answered, “If someone makes a pretense of delivering the world when in fact he is only interested in making money and garnering prestige, he not only does no one any good, but falls down for having cheated others.”

(2) One day, a few devotees were describing the expertise of a particular lecturer on the Bhagavat. Babaji Mahashaya knew that this individual received money for his services. He said, “This fellow does not explain the Bhagavat or the scriptures of the Goswamis. He is simply speaking on the sense-gratification scriptures. He isn’t chanting ‘Gaura, Gaura!’ or ‘Krishna, Krishna!’, but ‘Money! Money!’. It has nothing to do with bhajana. The end result is that the true Vaishnava religion is obscured. Nothing good can come from it; indeed, the world will be harmed by such preaching.”

(3) One day Babaji Mahashaya was chanting japa late at night when he suddenly jumped up and exclaimed, “Did you see that? Did you see? A professional speaker on the Bhagavat has gone to Pabna district and has just made a chaste widow break her vows! What a shame! These rascals are giving Mahaprabhu’s religion a bad name.” He spoke as if he were personally witnessing the event.

(4) The owner of the Nabadwip Dharmashala was a certain Girisha Babu. One day, his wife offered to build a cottage for Babaji Maharaj. He answered, “I have no problem sleeping under the straw shelter on a boat. The only problem I have is that so many rascals are constantly coming to me asking me to bless them. They disturb my chanting. They don’t really want my blessings because they don’t really want what is best for them, but still they come to disrupt my chanting the Holy Name. If you give me your brick outhouse, I will be able to chant in peace. No one will come to bother me there.” When he realized that Babaji Mahashaya was serious, Girisha Babu immediately had the outhouse purified with cowdung and brought in a mason to completely redo the building.

(5) One day during the cold season, a devotee made a gift of a quilt to Babaji Mahashaya, but rather than wrapping himself in it, he simply draped it over the tiny bamboo shelter under which he slept. When asked why he did that, he answered that the cold would go away simply upon seeing the quilt.

(6) One day the Raja of Cossim Bazar, Sir Manindra Candra Nandi Bahadur, invited Babaji Maharaj to his palatial residence for a Vaishnava assembly. Babaji Mahashaya answered, “If you want my association, leave all your riches and come and live under a bamboo shelter like mine. You won’t have to worry about food. I will beg for enough to feed both of us. If I go to stay in your palace, it won’t be long before I start desiring to enjoy sense gratification. I will start thinking about how I can accumulate a property for myself. Then before you know it, I will become your enemy. If you want to preserve our friendship and if you wish to be kind to me as your Vaishnava friend, then you will come to the Dhama and join me in worshiping the Lord and eating madhukari.”

gaura pahu na bhajiya goinu
prema-ratana-dhana helaya harainu

I have invited my spiritual death by not worshiping Lord Chaitanya. Due to my neglect, I have lost the invaluable jewel of love for Krishna.

adhane yatana kari dhana teyaginu.
apana karama-doshe apani dubinu

I have rejected the real purpose of my life and given my attention to worthless things. I am drowning because of my own misdeeds.

sat-sanga charii kainu asate vilasa
te-karane lagila je karma-bandha-phansa

I have given up the association of devotees, but I am associating with common nonsense men. And that is why the noose of karmic entanglement has been placed around my neck.

vishaya vishama visha satata khainu
gaura-kirtana-rase magana na painu

I have constantly drunk the most dangerous poison of sense gratification and so I could not merge myself into the sankirtan movement started by Lord Chaitanya.

keno va achaye prana ki sukha lagiya
narottama dasa kena na gela mariya

Why am I living? What pleasure is life bringing me? Narottama asks, “Why did I not die long, long ago?”