PART I - Śrī Guru and Śrī Guru vāṇī

1. How did you meet Śrīla Gurudeva?

I met Śrīla Gurudeva through the mercy of Śrīpād BV Bhagavat Maharaj. Śrīla Gurudeva would visit Alachua and stay at Śrī Jalakar Prabhu's house. Śrīpād Bhagavat Maharaj began taking Siksha from Śrīla Gurudeva and brought me along for my first darshan in 2003. Śrīla Gurudeva was instructing me on not eating meat, explaining that it is "me-eat" - you eat meat, then you are born in an animal life and must be eaten. The seed of this mercy to meet a personality like Śrīla Gurudeva began from my good fortune to have the saṅga of Śrīla Gour Govinda Gosvāmī Maharaj as a young child.

2. What speciality of Śrīla Gurudeva do you cherish most?

Śrīla Gurudeva's specialty of inclusivity is what I cherish most. He had the widest array of followers that any Ācārya, modern-era or otherwise, has ever had. Specifically, the Siksha Guru role he played for so many people was very unique. It is rare to be an Ācārya and have over 90% of your "senior saṅga" be diksha disciples of other Ācārya's. The loving, kind, inclusive mood that he established was never more noticeable until after he left our material vision. The disharmony that sprung up after was always present but due to his nature it never became prominently illustrated while he remained present to our material vision.

3. Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīla Gurudeva desired cooperation and harmony, not only amongst their disciples, but amongst all saṅgas'. Is this achievable? If so, how can it be achieved in our lifetime?

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thakur states in the introduction to Śrī Krishna Saṁhitā that "Sectarianism is an aspect of the Absolute Truth". We shouldn't expect to ever see perfect harmony and cooperation while so many of us (myself primarily!) are mired with lust, anger, greed, pride, envy, etc. Kaniṣṭha Adhikārīs will fight over men, money, & power. Madhyam Adhikārīs may still find themselves embroiled in disputes but are less bound. Only at the Uttama Adhikār level will there be perfect harmony & cooperation. This doesn't mean no differences! Good fences make good neighbors. However, mutual respect, affection, and appreciation for each other will be found. An example would be how in the Gauḍīya Maths throughout India, each temple celebrates their own festivals but when it is the Appearance or Disappearance day of some personality specific to one Math, the other Maths will all come out to support that particular festival day.

Ultimately, the achievement of cooperation & harmony begins at home - with our own sādhana. We must vigorously pursue nāma bhajan & Guru sevā to purify our contaminated consciousness. Only through the gradual progress of decontamination will we come to an elevated enough platform to begin to operate with an ecumenical and inclusive nature. As I mentioned in the previous response, Śrīla Gurudeva was the shining example of this. To quote Jagat Guru Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thakur:

"The fortunate ones who really long to ascend the terrace of Prem, do sincerely and incessantly chant the Name of Krishna in the company of sādhus. They do not have any appetite for any other feature of devotion."

3a. How can cooperation and harmony be carried out among disciples?

Like described in my answer to the previous question, it will depend on the disciple's individual endeavor to attain purity of consciousness. The absolute best thing a disciple can do is dive deep into this philosophy with body, mind, & heart. Yearning to attain Krishna Conscious realization we must cry out in our bhajan. Guru & Krishna will arrange the rest according to our sincerity. Practically speaking, the best behavior according to Śrīla Gurudeva is:

Never Criticize
Never Complain
Never stop Chanting

If everyone operates this way, then harmony & cooperation are sure to follow in short order.

3b. For those who may not feel nourished/cared for in their bhakti practice, what advice can you offer to strengthen their faith?

Our revered Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda states in his purport to BG 2.41 "Faith means unflinching trust in something sublime." When trust is broken, when we feel lost, when we feel that we have been abandoned, how can we recover from this? The answer is not palatable: our struggles are a result of our own choices. Even the most extreme of circumstances is the karmic reaction of decisions we've made. Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Maharaj advises that one should engage with others who do them harm by thinking "Krishna has sent this person as the executor of my own karma." If we can endeavor to truly imbibe this verse that Śrīla Gurudeva often quoted, and take our own spiritual progress into our hands, then we will gradually find appeasement to all our suffering:

tat te 'nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

"My dear Lord, one who constantly waits for Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him and who goes on suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim."

It is okay to have some introspection, to look at your situation with curiosity and detachment, and analyze what gives you true happiness. Do not expect that anyone will care for you more than you're willing to care for yourself. Even Śrīla Gurudeva's mercy must be received - we cannot expect mercy if we aren't open to it. Act in such a way that the uninterrupted stream of mercy that is causelessly flowing from Śrīla Gurudeva finds its way into your receptive heart.

4. In what capacity are you currently serving Śrīla Gurudeva?

​I'm currently taking a leadership role in the greater South Florida saṅga of Śrīla Gurudeva. I organize programs, I arrange for traveling preachers, & I give classes. I also am helping to train the grand disciples of Śrīla Gurudeva in the bhajans & philosophy of our Ācāryas. I participate in the harinām party headed up by Śrīpād BV Ashram Maharaj, and I collaborate with the local ISKCON devotees who are more open minded whenever possible. Most importantly, I will be starting a 501c3 soon (on Śrīla Gurudeva's Āvirbhāva!) to establish the Pure Bhakti Yoga Society of Miami!

PART II - Journey in practice

5. You give very wonderful, in depth classes. How would you encourage others to also give classes?

Everyone is responsible to become cognizant in the science of Krishna Consciousness. Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda said that the recipe to preach is you simply "read from my books and then explain in your own words according to your own realizations." At work, my boss says that "Execution trumps strategy." My encouragement would be to simply begin doing. The purification we get from the attempt to glorify our predecessor Ācārya's and their teachings is what makes one qualified to speak. Anyone can speak! Take the leap and let Śrīla Gurudeva guide your tongue! 🙂

5a. What advice can you offer on remembering pastimes, ślokas, and/or tattva siddhānta?

Remembering things pertaining to Bhakti primarily comes down to sukriti. Oftentimes it's more a reawakening than a remembrance. However, from a practical perspective I encourage daily recitation & study of whichever topic you're trying to imprint on your consciousness. Our sādhana is not simply to chant an allotted number of rounds and our gāyatrīs 3 times a day. It is about diving deep in śravaṇaṁ, kīrtanaṁ, vishnu-smaranam, etc. How can we best become absorbed in this way? By the analytical and deliberate study of the teachings of our Ācāryas. We shouldn't think that "oh, it's just a book." Śrīmatī Syamarani Didi always speaks on how to approach reading is to pray to the author of the book. One can pray with a sincere and humble mood like:

"Oh Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Oh Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, Oh Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Oh Śrīla Prabhupāda, Oh Śrīla Gurudeva, you are present directly in front of me in the form of your book. Please reveal your innermost moods to me. I prostrate myself at your feet."

In this way, beseeching the author for blessings, one may have the opportunity to truly imbibe the moods of the book. Śrīla Gour Govinda Maharaj defines real association as exactly this: to imbibe the moods of the sādhu. In short, daily study is required if one seeks to imprint the teachings of our Ācārya's in their heart and on their consciousness.

6. Have you ever experienced any challenges or obstacles limiting your bhakti practice?

Of course! Who hasn't?! I experience obstacles daily. Obstacles are always there until Bhava fully blossoms. The limitation is on a mental level, as I endeavor to push through my obstacles no matter how challenging.

6a. Could you please briefly share about them and how you overcame them?

One major obstacle is my addiction to food. I still struggle with eating out, eating onions & garlic, eating unoffered (or unofferable) foodstuffs, & eating beyond satiation. The remedy that has been extremely helpful is bhajan. I'm very firm about my spiritual endeavors daily, and no slip-ups ever discourage or derail me from my focus.

As you'll see in the answer to the next series of questions, I have the tendency towards watching movies/TV & playing video games. This can also be quite the impediment to my success in Bhakti. Because I'm (theoretically) aware that through the constant endeavor in my sādhana that these habits will fall away, I don't get discouraged. I would encourage everyone to never feel hopeless (Śrīla Gurudeva would say this) and stay full of conviction and faith that any anartha they're struggling with will dissipate in due course with steady commitment to sādhana bhajan.

PART III - Life

7. When you are not engaged in your various sevas, how are you spending your time? Do you work? Have hobbies?

I find myself talking with friends, visiting the gym, playing video games, or watching TV/movies in my free time. I also work a full-time job as a Senior Store Manager for a major national retail sales organization. Growing up a devotee, I always aspired to be engaged in business whilst still being rooted in my Krishna Conscious lifestyle. As they say, "Krishna fulfills all desires - be careful what you wish for!"

8. What are your goals for future development, in both life and bhakti?

In my personal life, I'm aspiring for Grihastha ashram. I have known I wanted a wife, and kids, since I was a kid myself. I want to be able to provide and care for my family spiritually and materially. I desire to find a wife that can be not just a mother to my children but a partner for my preaching sevā. My understanding is that I should become the type of man that a nice Vaishnavi would be interested in, so I have been on a journey of refinement in the material and spiritual realm. I've lost almost 250lbs in the past 20 months and made a concerted effort for a steadier & more consistent sādhana routine. I desire to continue on this journey with growth in my sādhana and improvement in my health. I appreciate the opportunity to share on your forum! Jai Śrīla Gurudeva 🙂

Aspiring to serve Śrī Hari, Guru, and the Vaishnavas,
Narasiṁha das