When Kindness and Compassion Take a Form

By  Srimad Bhaktivedanta By Translate Narayana Gosvami Maharaja Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja took his divine birth in Tewaripura, Bihar, India, in 1921. He met his gurudeva, Sri Srimad Bhakti Maharaja in the end of 1946, and dedicated his life to serving him. His gurudeva instructed him to translate the writings of prominent Vaisnavas into Hindi. Taking this command to heart, he worked continuously throughout his life and published more than fifty sacred texts. For over sixty years he travelled throughout India teaching Bhakti, or loving devotion to God. Between 196 and 2010 he circled the globe over thirty times, daily giving spiritual discourses, leading discussions and responding to a wide variety of questions asked by those accompanying him on his morning walk. One day in Odessa, Ukraine, in 2008, he requested some of his disciples, “It is my desire that all of our discussions during these morning walks must be published as a book, so that in the future everyone will be able to know all these truths, This is my idea.” Introduction It is well known throughout the world that association with a saintly person has one profound effect: it changes the heart. The Vedic scriptures explain that this is due to the purity of the saint, which comes from his absorption in the Absolute Truth. An element of his saintly qualities enters our heart and we thus yearn for absorption like his. The words of a saint are eternally beneficial for all. Even reading accounts of those fortunate to have walked and talked with him can stir our spirit and we, also, can feel ourselves to be with him. They are not just words on paper but the living presence of the saint’s fathomless grace and wisdom. Lord Krsna’s intimate associate, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, spoke the essence of Vedic literature, Srimad-Bhagavatam, over 5,000 years ago, just after Krsna’s departure from the world’s vision. Yet his words are as vital today as they were then, for all realized souls as well as for we who are bereft of spiritual vision due to the dense darkness of this age of quarrel and hypocrisy. The Lord’s associate, Srila Rupa Gosvami, revealed the most confidential of all Vedic wisdom 500 years ago, and still today he is nourishing the hearts of fortunate souls throughout the world. In this book, Walking with a Saint 2010, you will have the rare fortune to meet, walk with, and hear directly from another of Krsna’s associates, that is, Srila Gurudeva Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, who has come in a disciplic succession of spiritual masters of the same calibre as him. Herein he gives his powerful words of spiritual guidance, which flow in a stream from the hearts of these enlightened beings and are always fresh and illuminating. Although he left the vision of this mortal world in December of 2010, his profound, purifying presence is perceived by fortunate souls who read, hear, and remember his words. These transcriptions of Srila Gurudeva’s morning walks and other conversations have no sound or video accompaniment. Therefore they do not contain his laughter, his soft, sweet voice so full of tender compassion, and his intonations which reveal further meanings. One who reads sincerely, however, will experience the sweetness and depth of his nature and personal dealings. In previous years, Srila Gurudeva would give elaborate replies to the questions he received during his walks and informal meetings. But you will notice that in this 2010 book, he generally gives short answers. This was one of the special ties of his final manifest pastimes with us mortal beings. He was entering more and more into deep, internal, transcendental states of consciousness, indicating that very soon his disappearance pastime would take place. His brief answers also indirectly indicated that in his books, lectures, and previous walks and informal conversations, he had already said and written everything he wanted to give the world. Now we are able to approach him through those doors, ever-increasingly. Since he instructed his editors to publish all of his morning walks, we knew that we must publish these last walks as well. Besides the fact that these walks are especially historical (as they are his last), it is stated in Sri Caitanya-caritamata that even one eleventh part of a moment’s association with such a self-realized saint is enough to change the direction of a living entity who comes in contact with him and award the complete perfection of life – pure, selfless love of God. Who is the self-realized saint you will be walking with and hearing from in this book, and what are his qualities? What is it about such gurus, or spiritual masters, that enthuses the depths of the heart of the sincere spiritual seeker? Some of the answers to these questions will come to you intuitively. Just by your reading this book, you will feel something supra-mundane. But also, we’d like to share with you some things about him that have been revealed in Vedic literature. With our naked eye we perceive the sun-globe to be some glaring substance, but when- we see through authorized books of science, we can understand how much greater and more powerful it is than this Earth planet. Similarly, seeing through the eye of Vedic scripture gives clearer vision about the self-realized soul than does our naked eye.