INTRODUCTION
The descriptions of the activities of Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Śrī Śrīmad Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja are certain to bewilder materialistic persons, for one who is under the sway of worldly desires cannot enter into the mysteries of the deeds and thoughts of a person fully immersed in spiritual consciousness as stated in the scripture Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.17.
In his manifest pastimes Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja exhibited a relentless, acute detachment and indifference to the material world. On the other hand, when he took occasion to extol the unlimited glories of the Holy Name and point out the varieties of cheating and hypocrisy of so-called renunciates, as well as to reveal the inherent uselessness of endeavors for material happiness, his preaching was always effective and penetrating for his sincere hearers. Although outwardly almost illiterate and seemingly blind, scholars would approach him for the proper siddhānta (conclusion) of difficult philosophical issues, and they always received perfect explanations.
The following are just a select few accounts of his life that are taken from articles authored by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, his only disciple, which first appeared in the year 1917, shortly after the disappearance of Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja in the Sajjana Toṣaṇī magazine. The organization known as Caitanya Maṭha later compiled these articles into a single, small book.
BIRTH AND HOUSEHOLDER LIFE
Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja appeared some time in the 1830’s in the district of Faridapura, adjacent to the place called Tepakhola, in the village of Vagyana in East Bengal, or what is now known as Bangladesh. The village is situated on the bank of the Padmā River. He was born as the son of a vaiśya most probably called Vaṁśīdāsa. During his boyhood his mother and father arranged a marriage for him, and he remained in household affairs for more than twenty years. While a householder, he worked as a broker in the grain business, but even at that time he exhibited his spirituality. After the demise of his wife, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora left his business and went to Vṛndāvana. There he approached Śrīla Bhāgavata dāsa Bābājī, one of the foremost disciples of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, and accepted from him the traditional Paramahaṁsa Vaiṣṇava Bābājī dress.
RENUNCIATION AND TRAVELS
After this, he became completely renounced and sojourned under trees in various parts of the 168-mile Vrajamaṇḍala (circle of Vṛndāvana) for a period of approximately thirty years. During this time he would sometimes travel to the holy places of pilgrimage in Northern and Western India, as well as the Gaura-maṇḍala (the circle of Navadvīpa).
Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī became very famous among the great devotees of Vṛndāvana and was awarded the appropriate title of bhajanānandī. Even though he received such honor, he never endeavored for even a modicum of material sense gratification and totally disapproved of the secret material desires of pseudo-renunciates. He was entirely removed from such inclinations and would perform his pure, unalloyed devotional pastimes alone, in a profound devotional mood.
In the year 1897, during the month of Phālguṇa, when he was in his sixties, and at the time when the Yoga Pīṭha (birth site of Śrī Caitanya) was revealed by the efforts of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora Prabhu proceeded to Navadvīpa-Dhāma from Vṛndāvana under the instruction of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja. From this time until his disappearance, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī remained in Śrī Navadvīpa-Dhāma, living in different villages and realizing their non-difference from the holy places of Vṛndāvana.
INDIFFERENT TO WORLDLY EXISTENCE
He begged by gathering dry foodstuffs from the householders of the Holy Dhāma. He would sometimes offer those foodstuffs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the simple expedient of holding them in his hand. In order to cook he would collect dry wood from the paths, and he would wash earthen pots discarded by the villagers along the roadside near the Gaṅgā River on the occasion of eclipses (due to the effects of an eclipse such pots were considered impure and unusable). In order to clothe himself, he would go to the shore of the Gaṅgā and collect and wash discarded cloth that had been used to cover corpses at the burning ghat. Thus he always remained independent of the support of others, simply by utilizing items of no value to anyone else. In such a manner he obtained the practical necessities of life.
His only possessions were the tulasī beads he wore around his neck and the tulasī mālā (rosary) he kept in his hand for counting his rounds. He also kept a few books, such as Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura’s Prārthana and Prema-bhakti-candrikā. Sometimes he wore a torn cloth and sometimes he went naked. Even though it appeared that Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī was not a learned Sanskrit scholar, still the purport and conclusions of all scriptures were luminous in his heart and character proving the truth that spiritual understanding has nothing to do with mundane learning. He always observed the Ekādaśī fast rigidly, rejecting even water. On other days he often ate dried, cracked rice soaked in water, with chilies, or at other times simply earth from the bank of the Gaṅgā. He was always indifferent to worldly existence.
EXEMPLARY CHARACTER
It was never possible for anyone to serve him, for he was never willing to accept any kind of service from anyone. All kinds of divine powers and opulences were always waiting at his command ready to serve him. Sometimes such powers would be manifest in the form of his appearing to be omniscient. He was always able to reveal the deceitful nature lying within the hearts of pretenders. Although a person resided outside his immediate purview, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora could elaborately and scrutinizingly reveal the person’s cheating nature, because he was in direct contact with the Supersoul, Paramātmā. This ability, however, was not his principal virtue. He exhibited the highest standard of devotion to the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and because of his exemplary character he was recognized as the personification of the deepest degree of separation from Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This is what distinguished him from most other Vaiṣṇavas.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has written: “Many young, clever, old, learned, foolish, proud and reasonable persons came into contact with Śrīla Gaura-kiśora Prabhu, yet they could not realize his real identity. This is indeed the mystic opulence of the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Many persons came to consult with Śrīla Gaura-kiśora Prabhu about their insignificant desires. They would always get suggestions, but those suggestions were usually the cause of their disappointment. Śrīla Gaura-kiśora never accepted the false way of life of an imposter sādhu; his sincerity was apparent in itself. His loving attitude towards Kṛṣṇa was such that even when he obtained a very opulent offering, his renunciation predominated. He neither displayed any distaste for those persons who were inimical to him nor did he manifest any special affection for those very dear to him. He would often express himself saying, ‘In this material world I am all alone in my service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is worshipable by me.’
UNSURPASSABLE RENUNCIATION
The great Vaiṣṇava often came to Svānanda-sukhada-kuñja to hear Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s explanations of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. On several occasions he spent the night in a corner of Svānanda-sukhada-kuñja in a small hut with a tin roof. Sometimes he would fast and under no circumstances accept prasāda. In this way he would either fast, accept prasāda or cook for himself. Sometimes he would behave as if afflicted by the disease called śīroroga (insanity) and by blindness. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura arranged a balanced diet for him, but to his dismay Bābājī Mahārāja continued to follow his program of unsurpassable renunciation, disregarding the aforementioned diet.
When it seemed that Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī’s eyesight was deteriorating, Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura requested him to go to Calcutta for treatment but Śrīla Gaura-kiśora would reply, “I will never go to the illusory universe, Calcutta.” Once, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura informed Bābājī Mahārāja that his servant, Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, would stay with him in Calcutta and thus Bābājī Mahārāja would not have to suffer any inconvenience there. Upon hearing this, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora Prabhu replied, “I will never accept service from Prabhu, rather I shall die by drowning.” Śrīla Gaura-kiśora then left posthaste, running towards the Sarasvatī River. Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura pursued him, trying to dissuade him, humbly and repeatedly requesting him to return. After this incident, he was not to be found for forty-five days. Then, just as suddenly, he reappeared at Svānanda-sukhada-kuñja and announced, “I can’t achieve Śrī Kṛṣṇa by killing myself. Nevertheless, I cannot tolerate anyone serving me.” Although requested hundreds of times to take medicine, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora never consented. Eventually, in the year 1908, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora thoroughly lost his physical vision.
EXPOSES IMPOSTER DEVOTEES
On one occasion Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja was sitting within his bhajana-kuṭīra (small quarters for private absorption in meditation on Lord Kṛṣṇa) in Śrī Navadvīpa-Dhāma, loudly chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Other persons who had assembled there were also chanting. At this time, someone came and began to display different ecstatic symptoms, such as crying.
Some of the assembled devotees thought, “Lo, that person has attained the highest stage of devotional ecstasy by chanting the glories of the Lord.” Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī, however, immediately requested the man to leave. Some of the onlookers became disturbed by this and left. Bābājī Mahārāja commented, “One who has actually attained love of Godhead will never display the symptoms thereof but will keep them hidden from the general populace.
A chaste wife becomes very embarrassed when she has to show any part of her body in public, and she thus keeps her body thoroughly covered. In the same way, when one has real devotion for the Supreme Lord and becomes elevated to love of Godhead, he always feels embarrassed to exhibit symptoms of ecstasy and always keeps such symptoms hidden.”
SHARP WORDS OF A SĀDHU
Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja always gave beneficial instructions to persons who approached him with faith and humility, no matter what their spiritual status. On one such occasion a seeker went to Bābājī Mahārāja to hear topics concerning the Supreme Lord, but he heard some harsh words from him instead. The seeker therefore resolved to never go near Bābājī Mahārāja again. After some time, however, having been stricken with a distressed and troubled mind, he suddenly returned to see Bābājī Mahārāja.
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja told him, “Oh, you have left the association of devotees where topics about Kṛṣṇa are discussed, and now you are living in a secluded place and performing solitary worship of Kṛṣṇa. When one hears the topics of the Supreme Lord in the company of devotees, then one becomes freed from Māyā’s net of illusion.
But if one performs worship of the Lord in a secluded place, not in association with devotees, one becomes caught by the illusory energy. As a consequence, instead of topics about the Supreme Lord possessing the heart, mundane subject matters will occupy it instead.” The seeker replied, “I thought it better to reside in a secluded place and perform my own individual worship than to become disturbed by hearing the sharp words of a sādhu.”
Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja replied, “Please take note that those sādhus who speak sharp words to drive away the witch of the illusory energy are actually the only real devotees of Kṛṣṇa and friends of the living entities. The conditioned living being experiences the distressful quarreling of his wife and close relatives and is rudely treated by them until death, yet he never desires to leave their association.
On the other hand, he absorbs himself in trying to appease and serve them. But when a devotee of the Lord, who is always desirous of the living entity’s ultimate welfare, chides him just once with instructions meant to drive away Māyā, then that conditioned entity immediately makes plans to leave the saintly person for his entire life. If you actually want to perform devotional service properly, then you must accept the harsh language of the sādhu as the medicine by which Māyā can be given up. By this one can obtain the necessary spiritual advancement to successfully chant the Holy Name.”
ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS
Once a rich man from Calcutta, after his wedding, wished to know how he could utilize his time in the service of Kṛṣṇa while situated in married life. He approached Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja for advice. Bābājī Mahārāja advised, “Yes, it is alright that you have married. From this time on you will consider and respect your wife as Kṛṣṇa’s servitor and your spiritual master. You will not think of her as an object for sensual gratification. Everything in this world: wealth, jewelry, men and women, are all meant for worshipping Kṛṣṇa.”
HIS DISAPPEARANCE FROM THE WORLD
On November 16, 1915, Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Gosvāmī entered the eternal pastimes of the Lord. That day at sunrise, Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura left Śrī Māyāpura for the Rāṇī Dharmaśālā at Kuliya, where Bābājī Mahārāja had been staying. The head priests of Navadvīpa’s various temples and āśramas began to argue amongst themselves about where Bābājī Mahārāja’s spiritual body would be interred.
A heated argument arose. There was a material motive behind the dispute, for the contending parties considered that establishing the Bābājī’s samādhi at their āśrama or temple would put them in a position to earn handsomely from the pilgrims who would flock to see the tomb of the Paramahaṁsa. Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura however opposed their illegitimate attempts. Apprehending a breach of peace, Navadvīpa’s Inspector of Police, who was at that time Mr. Jatindranath Simha, arrived there.
After much controversy the various hypocritical Vaiṣṇavas stated their position: “Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura is not a sannyāsī and thus has no right to prepare a samādhi for a person who has renounced his home.” Hearing their pronouncement Sarasvatī Ṭhākura replied in a voice like thunder, saying, “I am the sole disciple of Paramahaṁsa Bābājī Mahārāja. Even though I have not accepted sannyāsa, I am a celibate brahmacārī, and, by the grace of Bābājī Mahārāja, I am not a hypocritical renunciate secretly addicted to abominable habits or fornication as some monkey-like people are.
I take pride in saying this as a bearer of Bābājī Mahārāja’s shoes. If there is someone here who is a renunciate of truly stainless character, then he can come forward and arrange for the samādhi. I have no objection to that. He who within the last one year, or six months, three months, one month or even three days has not indulged in illicit association with women will be able to touch this spiritually blissful body. If anyone else touches it, he will be completely ruined.” Hearing these words the Inspector of Police said, “How will the evidence for this be produced?” Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura rejoined, “I will believe what they say.” After this challenge was offered, the Bābājīs turned their backs one by one and departed from that place. The Inspector of Police was dumbfounded.
Some of the people remaining there advised that Bābājī Mahārāja had expressed a last desire that his body be dragged through the streets of Navadvīpa in the dust of the dhāma (holy place). To this Sarasvatī Ṭhākura replied, “Although we are fools, inexperienced and offenders, we will still not be disinclined to understand the true meaning of those words filled with humility, which have been spoken by my Gurudeva to destroy the pride of worldly-minded people.
Even Kṛṣṇacandra will personally think Himself successful if He carries my Gurudeva on His head or shoulders. After the departure of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Gaurasundara took the spiritual body of the Ṭhākura on His lap and danced. What dignity He adorned it with! Therefore, following in the footsteps of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, we shall also bear Bābājī Mahārāja’s spiritually blissful body on our heads.”
On the following day, November 17, 1915, on the Utthana Ekādaśī in the afternoon and according to the scriptural ordinances, Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura laid the body of his guru to rest on a newly formed sandpit of the Gaṅgā at Kuliya. Sixteen years later, his place of rest was eroded by the River Gaṅgā and inundated by it. Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura organized a party of men and recovered the samādhi intact and brought it to the bank of Rādhā-kuṇḍa at Vrajapaṭṭana, where he reestablished it. A disciple of Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura helped to construct a beautiful samādhi-temple on the site.
CONCLUSION
We would like to conclude this article by extolling Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja with this prayer:
namo gaura-kiśorāya sākṣād-vairāgya-mūrtaye
vipralambha-rasāmbhode pādāmbujāya te namaḥ
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, who is renunciation personified. He is always merged in a feeling of separation from and intense love of Kṛṣṇa.” [End]
