The Full Embodiment of a Vaiṣṇava’s Twenty-Six Qualities
Of the infinite qualities of a Vaiṣṇava, twenty-six are given special mention by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, thus pointing us in the direction of the full extent of the Vaiṣṇava’s glory. All of these qualities were observed to be naturally present in Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja to the fullest degree. These qualities are fully supramundane (aprākṛta). Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself is the source of them. It is never possible for them to exist or arise on the mundane platform. Śrī Kṛṣṇa only infuses those whom He has accepted as His own with these qualities. “Sarva-mahā-guṇa-gaṇa vaiṣṇava śarīre, kṛṣṇa-bhakte kṛṣṇa-guṇa sakali sañcāre[1] – All exalted virtues dwell in the body of the Vaiṣṇava. All of Kṛṣṇa’s qualities are infused in His devotees.”
(1) Kṛpālu (merciful)
Just as Bhagavān is Dīna-bandhu (the friend of the fallen), the Vaiṣṇava is “para-duḥkha-duḥkhī – aggrieved by the sorrows of others”. The cause of all the living entity’s sorrows is forgetfulness of Bhagavān. Forgetfulness, in this case, refers to the living entity’s indifference to its own natural, unconditional propensity to serve Bhagavān. Because the living entity has forgotten the propensity that is his only true bliss, his eternal bliss (parānanda), extreme sorrow (para-duḥkha) has taken its place. The soul’s disconnection from the Supersoul is the ultimate sorrow and has become the three types of material miseries. The Vaiṣṇava is aggrieved by that para-duḥkha, not mundane sorrows and scarcities.
For decades, for almost twelve months a year, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja busied himself going from home to home in the villages of Bengal, Bihar, and Assam, preaching the message of Śrī Caitanya, striving to turn everyone towards the worship of Kṛṣṇa. In those days, especially in rural areas, there was very little infrastructure and people were very poor. Regardless, every year, enduring all manner of hardship, he would travel out to the remotest village regions, places where other preachers were hesitant to go. His was a heartfelt manner of preaching, full of love and kindness. To this day, the people in those villages recall his visits with tears in their eyes. This was something he did year after year. Most of the villages were accessible only by foot, on paths often knee-deep with mud. He would have to walk miles and miles on these muddy paths in the torrential rain. Often, in the absence of boats, he had to cross rivers carrying his clothes in a bundle above his head. Every year, the people of these villages would eagerly await his scheduled arrival, and every year, he would bring many of them to Navadvīpa and make all arrangements for them there, nurturing them like a father and taking them on pilgrimage of Śrī Gaurahari’s holy abode.
(2) Akṛta-droha (non-malicious)
Mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇavas are ever anxious for the living entities to attain ultimate auspiciousness. Hence, they never engage in any sort of malicious activity towards any living creature. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was the embodiment of a non-malicious disposition. What to speak of malice, he was always making sure that he did not cause anyone any sort of agitation. He would always say, “jīvana-nirvāhe āne udvega nā dibe, para upakāre nija-sukha pāsaribe[2] – in the course of maintaining one’s life, one must not disturb others, but rather forego one’s own comforts for the benefit of others.” He was truly the radiant personification of this statement. He was even extremely hesitant to ask anything of the devotee who looked after him. “One should not give agitation to the Vaiṣṇavas,” he would say, revealing the inner torment it caused him to ask anything of anyone.
When he was preaching and staying with different gṛhasthas, he was always careful not to cause them any disturbance, even if he knew them very well, and always made sure the devotees travelling with him were also careful in this regard. If he happened to arrive very late at night at someone’s home, he would tell them, “Do not worry, we already took prasāda.” Even if this was not true, he would assure the gṛhasthas he had eaten and stay hungry through the night.
In general, he never said anything to anyone, even his own disciples, that would disturb them in any way. He would often say, “I blow even on pāntā bhāt (rice left soaking overnight in water) before I eat it.” Not only that, if someone wanted to provoke him, he would not allow himself to be affected. He was very tolerant in this way and this disposition of his was very well known throughout the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava community.
(3) Satya-sāra (truthful)
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja had taken to heart the essence of the Supreme Truth manifested in the current of transcendental conceptions flowing from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī. He never deviated from the practice and propagation of that truth for even a moment. No plea or opposition could make him waver even slightly from his conviction in the truth they taught. His conviction was in following the guidance of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī. In this context, he would say, “ācāryera jei mata, sei mata sāra, ara jata mata saba jāuka chārakhāra – the conclusions of the ācāryas are the essence; all other conclusions can fall to ruin.”
(4) Sama (equanimous)
In happiness or distress, in the company of friends or foes, whether receiving honour or insult from others – in all situations – Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was endlessly calm and composed. Because of this sama-buddhi, or equilibrium, his tolerance was quite natural. He could be in a place that had an utterly foul stench and not be bothered in the slightest. “Sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ[3] – pebbles and gold are the same,” he would say. In places that were horrendously noisy, he would, without difficulty, go about his writing and studies and then easily take rest. Even in extremely insulting situations, he would remain unperturbed. “Everyone is the servant of Kṛṣṇa and my teacher,” he would say. With this attitude, his expertise at giving honour, whether it was to a small child or to an extremely arrogant person, was genuinely astonishing. To have love for God, friendship with the pure devotees, mercy for the ignorant, and indifference for the envious is quite impossible to even conceive of for those of mundane intelligence. The genuine realization that all living beings are servants of Kṛṣṇa is the basis of the madhyama-adhikārī’s equal vision, but the way he would offer praṇāma to his disciples or those on the level of his disciples and address them as “Prabhu” is indicative of how a mahā-bhāgavata sees others.
(5) Nirdoṣa (faultless)
In regard to this virtue, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written the following: “As Vaiṣṇavas are exalted beings, their character needs to be exalted and worthy of following. If a Vaiṣṇava’s character is poor, then how will other souls who are of weaker character learn proper behaviour? Taking these matters into consideration, all those who are ācāryas and who impart mantras should and will make special efforts to keep their character free from flaw.” Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was naturally of such flawless character. The filth of the five places where Parikṣit Mahārāja allowed Kali to live (gambling, intoxication, illicit sex, violence to other entities, and gold) never dared to touch him. When he left his home at the age of nine and spent his whole life dedicated to following the guidance of paramahaṁsa Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, what appeal could these vices of Kali have for him?
Even though he was the president of a huge institution, he never had a personal bank account. He used to say, “My bank is in the pocket of my kurtā. Whatever I have for the service of Hari, guru, and Vaisnavas is all there.” For the last fifteen years of his manifest presence, he stopped even touching money. The devotees serving him saw to financial matters, and from time to time, he would simply instruct those devotees to provide financial support where needed for the service of Bhagavān.
No one ever saw him indulge in any kind of luxury of convenience. All his life, he used simple ordinary soap and a rather old-fashioned type of rubber shoes. As long as a garment was not ripped or falling apart, he could not and would not part with it. If someone gave him a new set of clothes, he would ask the devotees to pass it on to serve the Vaiṣṇavas. Once, someone gave him a new kind of soap that was sandalwood-scented, and he got rather upset. “Are you trying to get a licence for your own indulgences by getting me to use this?” he said. “Use this in the service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Vinoda-bihārī, please. They are the only ones who have the right to enjoy such nice things.”
(6) Vadānya (magnanimous)
What is generally referred to as magnanimity was denounced by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī when he offered his obeisance to Śrī Gaurasundara and addressed Him as mahā-vadānya (greatly magnanimous). One who is well-versed in the wondrous qualities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’s mercy becomes infused with a similar mahā-vadānya quality.
It was by the painstaking and heartfelt endeavours of greatly magnanimous personalities such as Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, and Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja that all corrupted forms of the soul’s eternal religion were dispelled and the pristine current of the highest teachings preserved within this earthly realm. Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja founded Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti to safeguard this pure current of devotional conceptions and then entrusted it to his dear Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, whom he had taught and trained since childhood. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja displayed his great magnanimity by keeping that sacred current undisturbed and undiluted. He would always say, “Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti is non-different from my guru-pādapadma, and I can never be separated from my guru-pādapadma.” He simply sought to inspire the living entities in the process of worship that was revealed by his guru-varga: worship of Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa as served by the gopīs of Vraja.
He kept an extremely wide berth of all devious conceptions and strongly emphasized the maintenance of the standards set by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, which included the strict observance of cāturmāsya-vrata, puruṣottama-vrata, Ekādaśī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Janmāṣṭamī, Śrī Rāma-navamī, and all other sacred fasting days. Moreover, he never condoned any compromise in regard to the conduct of initiated devotees, which meant strict prohibition of them engaging in the worship of demigods and goddesses and consuming tea, paan, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and non-vegetarian foodstuffs.
One lady, who had heard Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s hari-kathā for a long time and wanted to follow proper Vaiṣṇava sadācara, repeatedly approached him to receive harināma and dīkṣā, but her husband refused to give up eating meat and she had to cook for him. Finally, after a great many tearful requests for him to just give her a mālā that he had not even chanted on, he told her, “Mother, I do not have the right to do anything independently. I am bound and obligated to my superiors. You are a mother to me. Are you going to force your son to do something that is forbidden?”
His great magnanimity was that he safeguarded the impeccable standard of Vaiṣṇava dharma so carefully amid the ocean of contaminations that is Kali-yuga and inspired his followers to do the same. “Nirapekṣa nā haile dharma nā jāya rakṣaṇe[4] – one cannot protect dharma unless one is uncompromising.”
(7) Mṛdu (gentle)
The bhakti-latā (vine of devotion) is very tender. It cannot survive in a hard heart. If one does not relinquish kutarka (specious reasoning) and desires for sense enjoyment, the heart does not become soft, and if the heart does not soften, Bhakti-devī cannot appear there. As taste (ruci) arises for anything related to Bhagavān, the heart softens to the point that it remains constantly melted. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s nature was so soft and gentle that the moment people came into his presence, they would be overwhelmed by it. Thousands and thousands of people were blessed to be able to bathe simultaneously in the nectareous ocean of affection of his gentle heart. Everyone felt like they were the special object of his affection and felt supreme satisfaction in that. In the ambience of that softness, no one could be hesitant or withdrawn. Whoever came into the proximity of his childlike tenderness would blossom and seat him on the throne of their heart. He himself would say, “I am a child, and you are all my guardians.” He would also say, “We are all children in front of Bhagavān. If you cannot be simple-hearted like a child, you can’t become a Vaiṣṇava. Just as an infant has no other language besides crying, we have no other alternative than to weep while chanting harināma before Bhagavān. If the infant does not cry, the mother doesn’t give him milk. Not that one should make a show of crying. It has to be the crying of the heart. And Bhagavān, who lives in the heart, knows well what that is. Can a parent remain unmoved by the crying of their child?”
(8) Śuci (clean)
“Gaṅgāra paraśa haile paścāte pāvana, darśane pavitra karo ei tomāra guṇa[5] – one becomes pure by touching the Gaṅgā, but your quality is that the mere sight of you is purifying.” Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was truly the personification of such purificatory power. What to speak of seeing him, just remembering him purifies the heart. This is why it has been said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.10): “tīrthī kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā – because you [the devotees] carry Bhagavān Gadādhara bound within your heart, you make holy places holy.” By the rare darśana of such mahā-bhāgavatas, the living entity becomes purified of the inclination for sinful activity. The tendency for sin must be dispelled for one to become inspired to perform hari-bhajana. Then, by hearing the divine message emanating from the lips of those devotees, the living entity can advance in hari-bhajana. Many, many fortunate persons were drawn to Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja in this way and became engaged in hari-bhajana.
In regard to cleanliness, he would say, “All manner of purity, inner and outer, depends on remembering the lotus-eyed Śrī Hari. Śrī nāma-bhajana is not to be given up in any condition of purity or impurity, because it is the eternal function of the living entity. Chanting śrī nāma with conviction and serving śrī vigraha, who is non-different from śrī nāma, is imperative for every sādhaka and sādhikā, but there is no need to practice the stringent and ritualistic standards of cleanliness as observed in the smārta tradition.”
(9) Akiñcana (possessionless)
To be free of the arrogance associated with high birth, opulence, education, and physical beauty is true akiñcanatā. Only one who is akiñcana is tṛṇād api sunīca. That mood of being bereft of any and all possessions and that quality of being humbler than a blade of grass was evident in every step Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja took. He would often say, “I am always staying under trees. I never stay in buildings. I really have no address. My only real refuge is under trees.” These were not mere words. He would spend day after day in utter delight in the rickety cottages of very poor devotees. Once, in Koch Bihar, he was invited to stay at the home of a poor disciple. That night, a storm blew in and it began raining very heavily. Water began leaking through the thatched roof on to his bed. Instead of telling anyone, he just sat through the whole night, holding an umbrella over his head to keep dry. He even forbade his sevaka from saying anything to the host. In this way, he did not get any rest all night. But he felt more comfortable staying with poor devotees in their straw cottages than with proud rich people in their multi-storey mansions.
If ever coerced to go to a rich person’s house, he was always very uncomfortable in that environment. He would say, “Bhagavān has more mercy for the poor. Aristocrats, scholars, and wealthy people are very arrogant. You cannot buy Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas with wealth, opulence, and erudition. These efforts to buy me really make me uncomfortable. Poor people naturally have a humble mood because of their lack of money, and such a mood is favourable for sādhana-bhajana. If those people gain sādhu-saṅga, they can easily progress on the path of sādhana-bhajana, much more easily than those who are rich and arrogant. Poverty is really not a curse but an advantage in obtaining the real mercy of guru, Vaiṣṇavas, and Bhagavān.” Such an akiñcana saint who has no enmity toward anyone and is wholly indifferent to wealth, position, and prestige is truly rare.
(10) Sarvopakāraka (works for the benefit of all)
“Bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya janma hailo jāra, janma sārthaka kari’ karo para-upakāra[6] – those who have taken a human birth in the land of India should make their lives worthwhile by engaging in the welfare of others.” It is through the compassion of Śrī Caitanya-candra, the abode of mercy, that one can offer the greatest help to any and all living entities. The resonance of the kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana-yajña propagated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu simultaneously invokes supreme auspiciousness for mountains, trees, plants, animals, birds, and human beings of every kind. In order to duly and beautifully spread Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana-yajña everywhere, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja established temples and āśramas everywhere, thus providing all living entities with the means to gain ultimate auspiciousness. Even when a dangerous creature like a snake appeared in front of him in the assembly where he was lecturing on Bhāgavatam, he told the frightened audience not to harm it in any way and had it listen to that bhāgavata-kathā. After a short while, the snake went away peacefully. He remarked that he had not detected any harmful intent in the snake and surmised that it was likely a special sādhaka. On countless occasions, he delivered various ghosts and spirits by reciting hari-kathā and chanting harināma to them in the middle of the night. He would provide mahā-prasāda meals to the poor and distressed and would even provide them financial assistance.
(11) Śānta (peaceful)
“Śamo man-niṣṭhatā buddheḥ – peace means absorbing one’s intelligence in Me” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.19.33). The jīva only becomes truly peaceful if his intelligence becomes fixed upon Kṛṣṇa. Those who want material enjoyment and those who want salvation or mystic powers are not peaceful. Aside from the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, no one is peaceful. Being peaceful does not just mean being disciplined and sober. It means being free from agitation, having brought one’s senses under control, having no violent impulses, never being susceptible to provocation, being content, etc. Aptly named Santoṣa (“satisfied”), Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja displayed these virtues from a very early age and thus became dear to everyone. It was because he was devoted to Kṛṣṇa from birth that he went to Navadvīpa just once at the age of nine and became fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, never to return to the unrest of family life.
People commonly say, “saṁsāra dharma baḓa dharma – the dharma of family life is the greatest dharma.” Or they say, “āge bhoga, pare tyāga – first enjoyment, then renunciation.” These popular sayings encourage entanglement in family life and cast people into oceans of misery via marriage. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja never gave any such instruction to the jīvas. He would say, “Though the propensity for enjoyment does subside temporarily through enjoying, it never truly subsides or becomes satiated. Only through sādhu-saṅga, which causes the jīva’s consciousness to blossom and enables him to gain knowledge of his true nature and function, do the jīva’s material desires become soothed. That gives him peace, and then, by serving Kṛṣṇa, he gains parā-śānti (supreme peace).”
(12) Kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa (surrendered exclusively to Kṛṣṇa)
All the qualities of a Vaiṣṇava are centred on this quality of exclusive surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Like the central point from which it is possible to draw a circle’s circumference, this quality becomes the central pivot around which the whole sphere of all the glorious qualities of a Vaiṣṇava exist. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja would frequently recite verses like: “karmāvalambakāḥ kecit kecit jñānāvalambakāḥ; vayaṁ tu hari-dāsānāṁ pāda-trāṇāvalambakāḥ[7] – some resort to fruitive action and others to impersonal knowledge, but I simply take shelter of the shoes of the servants of Hari, which ferry souls across the ocean of material existence.” Other times, he would say, “sahāyo me mātraṁ vitatha-dalanī vaiṣṇava-kṛpā[8] – the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas, which destroys the illusion of māyā, is my only aid.” He would always say: “My every activity occurs strictly according to the orders of my masters. I am bound to them. I have no way to do anything independently.” At night, when it was time to take rest, he would often be seen conversing with some invisible presence. When asked repeatedly who it was, he would relent and quietly say, “My masters came.” In answer to the question of who his masters were, he would point at the pictures of the guru-varga.
He would often be heard murmuring from the following kīrtana: “vṛṣabhānu-sutā, caraṇa sevane, haibo je pālya-dāsī… rādhā-pakṣa chāḓi’, je-jana se-jana, je-bhāve se-bhāve thāke… āmi to’ rādhikā, pakṣa-pāti sadā, kabhu nāhi heri tāke[9] – When will I become a maidservant of Vṛṣabhānu’s daughter? ... Let everyone aside from Śrī Rādhā’s party be as they are. I am always partial to Śrī Rādhā and never look upon those who are not.”
Whenever there was a disturbance in the service at one of the maṭhas, it was always Ṭhākurāṇī (Śrīmatī Rādhikā) who would report it to him, not Ṭhākura (Kṛṣṇa). Accordingly, he would then take steps to remedy the situation. He always referred to Śrīmatī Rādhikā in this manner, as Ṭhākurāṇī. He would rarely ever speak Her name aloud. In this way, he expressed his kārṣṇaika-śaraṇatva (exclusive surrender to Kṛṣṇa’s dear most beloved, Śrīmatī Rādhikā), which is the topmost zenith that this quality can reach.
(13) Akāma (desireless)
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja never sought anything from anyone in this world. He used to say, “My gurudeva told me: ‘You will not have to worry about serving Bhagavān. The moment you think of something you need in order to render some service, the arrangement will be made.’ In reality, śrī gurudeva alone is the main custodian of all service rendered to Śrī Śrī Gaura-Rādhā-Vinoda-bihārī. He is the one who makes all the arrangements. We simply collect ingredients of service as per his arrangement. What to speak of this world, there is nothing we seek from anyone in the entire universe.”
Instead of seeking to receive anything from anyone, he would endlessly glorify śrī guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga, without any trace of ulterior motive. He would gesture toward the pictures of his guru-varga and say, “They see to all our maintenance and nourishment. All this time, they have been seeing to our real welfare. They are doing so right now as well, and they will certainly continue to do so in the future.”
(14) Nirīha (effortless, indifferent)
All the endeavours of one who is jīvan-mukta (liberated while living in this world) are strictly for the sake of Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure. As neither indulgence nor renunciation is part of the living entity’s eternal dharma, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was never seen to engage in either sort of pursuit. He displayed this sort of indifference in his life, thereby expressing the pinnacle of śaraṇāgati. “Nija-bala-ceṣṭā-prati bharasā chāḓiyā, tomāra icchāya āchi nirbhara kariyā[10] – giving up faith in my own strength and efforts, I am here at Your will, relying upon You.” In one sense, he was constantly striving, engaging his body, mind, and words in the service of Śrī Hari. On the other hand, he was utterly inactive when it came to accumulating profit, worship, and prestige.
(15) Sthira (steady)
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja would sit for hours on end in the midst of an assembly or on his bed, immersed in his activities. It seemed like an impossible task to us, who are of rather restless natures. This was truly an indication of the steadiness imbued throughout his body, mind, and words.
Once, a devotee said to him, “I have been looking for you for so many days. You never stay in one place.”
In response, he said, “What is sthira? One who is always engaged in the service of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga is sthira. Everyone else is not sthira.”
Once, a devotee living in the maṭha in Navadvīpa expressed the desire to live in one of the maṭhas in Vraja-maṇḍala. Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja said to him, “For one who has not realized the glory of Gauḍa-maṇḍala, Vraja-maṇḍala is just a place with trees, roads, houses, ponds, and fields. That is why our guru-varga has sung: ‘gurudeva! baḓa kṛpā kari’, gauḓa-vana mājhe… citta sthira habe, sakala sahibo, ekānta bhajibo hari[11] – Gurudeva, bestowing great mercy on me, you have given me a place in Gaura’s forest, and ordered me to sit in this Vraja and chant harināma. But when will you have mercy on this servant and give me the qualification to do so? Then my mind (citta) will be steady, I will tolerate everything, and I will perform bhajana of Hari with exclusive focus.’ Śrī guru-pādapadma is the foremost Vrajavāsī. The place he instructs us to do bhajana in is indeed Vraja. One who sees the forests of Gauḍa and Vraja as non-different is a real Vrajavāsī. He alone is sthira because his soul is offered to the instruction of guru-pādapadma. That is how one attains the qualification to perform one-pointed bhajana.”
(16) Vijita-ṣaḍ-guṇa (victorious over the six enemies)
One who has conquered lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride, and envy is referred to as vijita-ṣaḍ-guṇa. It was as if the word indriya-tarpaṇa (sense enjoyment) was not in Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s dictionary. These six foes of the soul had no sway over him. All of his senses were fully dovetailed with the senses of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga, so he was quite naturally vijita-ṣaḍ-guṇa.
(17) Mita-bhuk (moderate in diet)
From birth, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja never partook of any non-vegetarian foodstuff. He would say, “I really am a vighaśāsī-bhṛtya, a servant who grew up eating the remnants of the Vaiṣṇavas, my masters.” He never, even by mistake, ate anything that was not offered. Hence, the flaw of atyāhāra (consuming too much) could never attack him. By his ideal example, he taught never to judge the taste of prasāda while honouring it. If asked how the cooking was, he would always respond, “I have rendered service to prasāda.” Sometimes, he would say, “I do not know good or bad. I just render service.” There was no question of him eating too much. Daily he ate an amount proportionate to a few small, children’s size bowls.
(18) Apramatta (unagitated)
He was firmly established in the rūpānuga words: “āsakti rahita, sambandha sahita, viṣaya-samūha sakalai mādhava[12] – if one is devoid of material attachment and endowed with divine knowledge of one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa, then one knows that all objects of the senses belong only to Mādhava.” Hence, he never fell prey to the maddening preoccupation with sense objects. As his full attachment was focused on the source of everything, no attraction to or repulsion in regard to material enjoyment could affect him.
(19) Amānī (without any desire for honour) and (20) Mānada (respectful of others)
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was, from head to toe, the personification of amānī-mānada. Even though he had the rare fortune of being in the proximity of Prabhupāda Śrī Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and the fortune of serving him personally and receiving harināma from him, he never even attempted to take pride in that great fortune or count himself as one of Prabhupāda’s disciples. He would always say, “My gurudeva is jagad-guru Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and his gurudeva is jagad-guru Śrī Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda.”
One day, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja privately addressed him as guru-bhāi (god-brother) and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja burst into tears, objecting with the words, “Prabhupāda is yours and you are mine.”
Once, a disciple asked him, “Can we refer to both Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Prabhupāda as “paramagurudeva”?
In response to this, he said, “You want to say this because of my one little interaction [receiving harināma from Śrīla Prabhupāda] and earn some pratiṣṭhā that way? However, I do not maintain the ego (abhimāna) that Śrīla Prabhupāda is my gurudeva, so he cannot be your paramagurudeva. Only Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja is your paramagurudeva.”
Even though he received harināma from Śrīla Prabhupāda and dīkṣā-mantras from Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja before Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja even took sannyāsa, even though he was a direct witness to the founding of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti, even though he was chosen as the president and ācārya by Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and even though he was a peerless scholar of all the scriptures, a living, breathing encylopedia of siddhānta – even though he was entirely beyond compare in every way – he never made any effort to be treated differently or earn prestige by making it known that he was somehow superior. He considered himself to be a negligible servant of the Samiti. His natural humility was such that the day before his appearance day, to avoid the ceremony of guru-pūjā, he would suddenly disappear and go where no one could find him.
He gave honour to all as befitting their status and always taught his disciples to give honour to their seniors, thus manifesting the practice of mānada-dharma (giving respect to others). His expertise in giving proper honour to people in both worldly and spiritual settings was truly exemplary. If someone wanted any sort of respect or prestige, he seemed to be omniscient of their desire and never hesitated to fulfil it. And even when he was very vocal about what was unfavourable to bhakti or the sampradāya, his statements and conduct never transgressed his naturally respectful nature.
(21) Gambhīra (grave)
Though Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja had a natural childlike gentleness, at the same time, his gravity was unsurpassable. He followed closely every word of his śrī guru-varga, and thus, being fully versed in śabda-brahma and Parabrahma, retained an ocean-like aura of gravitas at every step. Just as it is difficult to deduce from the surface of the ocean that it is a treasure-chest of gems, similarly, it was difficult to detect from outside the glow of the radiant blue sapphire (ujjvala-nīlamaṇi) situated in the depth of his heart. In front of that vast gravity, all manner of frivolous talk would bow away and the witch of the desire for prestige would vanish in fear.
(22) Karuṇa (compassionate)
As the personified mercy of Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s butter-like heart was always melting with the quality of compassion. There is no counting how many hundreds of impoverished individuals he lent his full assistance to. Seeing their inclination to perform hari-bhajana, he supported them with money, goods, wise instructions and helped them develop or increase the fortitude of mind necessary to perform bhajana, thus not allowing them to stray from or be deprived of this exalted path. Literally thousands of people, amid the most precarious situations of their lives, had more faith and confidence in him than in their own family members. Knowing he was theirs, they could be peaceful and worry-free. Either he would be there for them in person or he would send someone trustworthy to help them. Otherwise, if he was very busy, he would confer valuable instructions via letters – hundreds of letters – which stand testament to his painstaking efforts to extend himself to help them. To this day, the thought of his magnanimity draws forth tears from the eyes of those persons.
Another special feature of his compassion was that he would not readily give any instruction to anyone, even to his disciples. First, he would observe and evaluate their capacity, mindset, and inclination to fulfil his instruction. His reasoning was: “If a jīva disobeys my direct order because he is in a conditioned state and compelled by the stubborn habits of misusing his independence since time immemorial, then because he will have committed the offence of disobeying one’s guru, he will sink further to a lowly condition of existence. Once again, because he is bereft of shelter, he will have to wander aimlessly through countless species of life. Since he does not know how to obtain the shelter of a bona fide guru, how many more lifetimes will he have to wait? Rather than benefiting him, I will have caused him unimaginable suffering. Just because he does not understand the risk of neglecting a direct order does not mean I can be frivolous in this regard.” Therefore, he would, with utmost respect, say, “If I say something, will you kindly listen?” Or: “If you do this service, Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas will be pleased with you.” Thus, he would give instructions in a very polite and indirect manner.
(23) Maitrī (friendly)
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja had profoundly deep friendships with Vaiṣṇavas. There is no calculating the amount of assistance, both financial and otherwise, he discretely offered to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s renounced disciples. Those who had even a glimpse of his friendship with nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Jīvana Janārdana Gosvāmī Mahārāja can perhaps comprehend what friendship looks like between two mahā-bhāgavatas. If he saw someone sincerely engaged in the service of Bhagavān, then no matter who that person was, there was no end to his affection for him. His door would be wide open for that person.
(24) Kavi (a poet)
Poets and poetry aficionados are referred to by the word kavi, but it can also refer to a scholar. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja knew hundreds of poems of native and foreign poets by heart. He had learned these during his time in school in Māyāpura. While others may have read the same poems and fallen prey to the allure of māyā expressed in them, he, even as a young student, derived inspiration from them that was favourable to bhakti. He would explain very beautifully which poet he felt had some semblance of devotion to Bhagavān or which poem expressed teachings favourable to the cultivation of bhakti.
As far as transcendental poetry is concerned, there is no fathoming how much of that he kept stored up in his heart. The way divine poetry would issue forth from his lips in an unbroken flow, like the current of the Gaṅgā, one could only assume he was a messenger from that supramundane realm. That is why Śrī Vinoda (Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja) referred to him as “jīvanta gauḍīya abhidhāna – the living encyclopedia of the Gauḍīya siddhānta”. This treasure-house of his was no burdensome accumulation bereft of kṛṣṇa-bhakti or a means to gain profit, worship, and adoration. He was truly a kavi in the sense that his consciousness was fully absorbed relishing the rasa of that divine poetry. There is one small poem he has written that gives us a glimpse of the expansive nature of his pure, transcendental love:
keho cāya śudhu pīta-gaura, keho cāya śyāma-nīla,
Some only want yellow-gold, some want dark-blue…
āmi cāhi śudhu rāmadhanu-raṅga, jāhāte sakali mila
I just want the colours of Rāma’s bow (the rainbow), wherein all meet.
keho bhālobāse svarṇa cā̃pa, keha bhālovāse śudhu jūi,
Some love golden champaka, some just love jasmine…
sājāna bāgāne sneha-mamatāya, kāke rekhe kāke chūi
Both are arranged in the garden via love and attachment. Which one do I turn a blind eye to? Which do I choose to caress?
bhālobāsi sabe ‘āpana’ bhāviyā, bā̃dhiyā prītira rākhī,
I love all, feeling them to be my own, binding them with the amulet of love.
keho nahe para, pāya samādara, guṇa saurabhe saba ḍhāki
No one is other. They all receive the same honour, as I douse them in the perfume of virtue.
(25) Dakṣa (expert)
It is very difficult for conditioned souls to remember Kṛṣṇa by themselves. This is why Kṛṣṇa has mercifully manifested the Vedas, Purāṇas, and other scriptures, wherein various rules and regulations for different people of different capacities reveal the gradual path to remembering Kṛṣṇa at all times. All these rules and regulations are, at first glance, perceived by the conditioned soul to be very difficult to follow. Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, through his own conduct, very expertly revealed to the living entities how to apply these instructions of scripture in their lives, whereby they can gain the mental fortitude to move forward in sādhana-bhajana in a pure and proper way. He always said, “All the instructions of the scriptures are not for anyone but me.” Once a devotee asked, “Gurudeva, then are they not for us?” He laughed and replied, “If you become mine, then they are also for you.” In other words: “I follow all the instructions of the scriptures because they were prescribed just for me. Since they are not for anyone else, I do not bother to see who is following them and who is not. If you inherit this conception of mine, then you too will be benefited from these instructions.”
There was no limit to the expertise he displayed in proving, through comparative analysis, the inferiority of the craving for material enjoyment or impersonal liberation, and thereby establishing kṛṣṇa-bhakti as the dharma of the soul. Whether there was only one person present to listen or ten or thousands, astonishingly, he always invested a hundred percent of his effort into communicating these truths. No matter how many people came to see him per day, how many religious assemblies he was invited to, or how many homes he was requested to deliver hari-kathā in, he was always fully eager and ready to fulfil said demands and paid no attention to any bodily inconvenience incurred in the course of doing so.
Those who heard his sublime, nectareous hari-kathā, which was full of profound realizations of scripture and relieved its listeners of doubt, had no taste in any other kathā. This special expertise of his distinguished him. His writings are the same: profound, sublime, and beautifully articulate. And it was with great expertise that he published many sacred texts written by the Gosvāmīs in order to preserve and protect the sampradāya.
(26) Maunī (silent)
In the age of Kali, the age of conflict, to be silent in the midst of conversations that are not related to Kṛṣṇa is the only intelligent thing to do. This was one of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s special instructions. He would often say, “The last instruction my gurudeva gave me was: ‘Dekhbi, śunbi, bolbi nā – see, hear, but do not speak. You have eyes, so you will see, you have ears, so you will hear, and you have a mouth, but don’t speak.’ ” This instruction was something Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja personally followed very strictly. If he saw someone knowingly doing something wrong, he would see such behaviour as irremediable and remain silent. At times, his silence would be for the sake of chastisement. He would say, “A dumb mute has no enemies.” Thus, he would remain untouched by unwanted association and conflict and stay immersed in kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, the one sublime feature of Kali-yuga. In this way, he instructed his followers to do the same. But when he saw that, in this age, even a dumb mute has enemies, he commenced his pastimes of illness and became fully silent. He would recognize everyone and smile, but would not say anything besides, “Hare Kṛṣṇa.”
Like Śrīman Mahāprabhu in His final pastimes, Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja began to spend most of his time absorbed in an internal realm of service. Sometimes, he would be observed calling out to his Ṭhākurāṇī. Sometimes he would be tossing and turning on his bed, uttering the following couplet: “kṛṣṇa re, bāpa re, kothā mora hari, kona dike gelā mora prāṇa kari’ curi – O Kṛṣṇa, alas! Where is my Hari? Which way did You go, having stolen my heart?” Sometimes he would be wide awake in the middle of the night, clutching Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to his chest, gazing at it. He displayed extreme indifference to anything that was not related to Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes, unknowingly, he would reveal a hint of his internal service, but then, the next moment, he would come to external consciousness and try to conceal it. Though he was always trying to keep his svarūpa hidden, his inner mood of a Vraja gopī revealed itself in various emotions and expressions.
Entering nitya-līlā
Many times, he said, “I will leave this world on the bank of the Gaṅgā in Bhagavān’s dhāma in the midst of loud saṅkīrtana in all four directions.” And so it came to be. In late 2004, he was being looked after at Śrī Nimāi-tīrtha Gauḍīya Maṭha in Baidyabati (near Kolkata). As if he could sense his departure to the eternal abode was imminent, he suddenly returned to Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma on the Ekādaśī just prior to the start of dāmodara-vrata. Many devotees came from all over to gather at Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha, in Navadvīpa, to observe kārtika-vrata in his proximity. From time to time, he made public appearances, fulfilling the devotees’ desires for his darśana. But from the day of Śrī Annakuṭa Mahotsava, the illusory forces of māyā began to cover their eyes as the health of his sacred form (śrī aṅga) appeared to deteriorate. The next day (14/11/04), seeing his health deteriorating further, his sevakas considered shifting him to Kolkata immediately, but he would not allow himself to be moved. He did not want to leave the banks of the Gaṅgā to set one foot outside of Navadvīpa, which is non-different from Govardhana. The devotees began to do kīrtana all throughout the maṭha. As the night progressed, the apprehension about his departure increased, and just after midnight, at around 12:37 AM, on the third day of the bright lunar fortnight (śuklā-tṛtiyā- tithi), during amṛta-yoga (a very auspicious time), just as his sevakas applied tilaka to his limbs, he disappeared from our midst.
As he had always been the intimate companion, servant, and right-hand man of his gurudeva, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, he was given a resting place to the right-hand side of his beloved gurudeva’s samādhi.
Both the appearance and disappearance of Bhagavān’s associates are for the welfare of the world. They know that as long as they are directly manifest before us, we remain trapped in external vision of them, content with having seen their external appearance, often not even attempting to appreciate who they really are. Hence they have just cause to conceal themselves from the world and from us, for our benefit. On one hand, they teach us renunciation by showing us the transience of human life. However, if we have some love for them, we will know them to be an eternal truth, the āśraya-vigraha, and will strive eagerly on the path of sādhana-bhajana, following the principles of real renunciation (yukta-vairāgya), in order to one day meet with them again.
All glories to the supremely worshipful āśraya-vigraha, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja! All glories to the viṣaya-vigraha, Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda, Śrī Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Vinoda-bihārī-jīu!
[1] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 22.75)
[2] Gītāvalī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-kīrtane Jadi (4) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[3] Śrīmad Bhagavad-gīta (6.8)
[4] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 3.23)
[5] Prārthanā, Ei Bāra Karuṇā Karo (3) by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
[6] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 9.41)
[7] Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Śrī Padyāvalī (58), verse composed by Śrī Mādhava Sarasvatī
[8] Sva-niyama-dvadaśakam (12) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[9] Gītamālā and Śaraṇāgati, Vṛṣabhānu-sutā (1, 4) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[10] Śaraṇāgati, Tumi Sarveśvareśvara (7) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[11] Śaraṇāgati, Gurudeva! Baḓa Kṛpā Kari’ (1–2) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[12] Duṣṭa Mana Tumi Kisera Vaiṣṇava (12) by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda