Srila Gurudeva explained, “What is disappearance? A vaisnava goes into samadhi (trance) every day while chanting the Holy Names. When his separation from the service of Sri Radha-Krsna is so deep that he does not return from his trance back to external consciousness, it is called maha-samadhi, or the divine disappearance day.”

On this transcendental occasion, we deeply reflect upon the other-worldly faith (aprakrta-nistha) of our spiritual master. When a conditioned soul speaks about Sri Krsna, it causes one to intellectually evaluate his statements. But it is our experience that when directly hearing from a liberated acarya, the sound vibration gives a powerful jolt that dislocates us from the plane of mundane thought patterns and connects us to the realm beyond sense perception. The shock is so great that we become incapable of functioning in relation to worldly karmas. All that remains is service in the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This is the power of the aprakrta-nistha of the saint.

The other-worldly faith (aprakrta-nistha) of my Holy Master manifested in many forms, most notably:

1) Aprakrta-guru-nistha
2) Aprakrta-nama-nistha
3) Aprakrta-nistha in Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
4) Aprakrta-gopi-nistha
5) Aprakrta-radha-nistha
6) Aprakrta-nistha in Srila Rupa Gosvami

Let us remember them one by one.

aham hi vacanad rajna

pateyam api pavake

bhaksyayeyam visam tiksnam

majjeyam api carnave

“On the order of the King, I may enter fire, drink bitter poison or become submerged in the ocean.”

"Remembering these words of Lord Rama, expressing his loyalty to his father, Dasaratha Maharaja, the disciple should also be ready to enter a blazing fire, drink virulent poison or jump into the middle of the ocean to honour the inviolable order of Sri Guru."

Srila Gurudeva used to say, “If someone asks, ‘What is the name of your guru?’ they may not be asking in good faith. In such a case, one should reply, ‘What austerities have you performed in your previous life that in this life you can hear the name of my Sri Gurudeva?’

“Alternatively, if someone inquires in good faith, do not ever speak the name of one’s Holy Master in a casual way. First pause to take off your shoes, fold your hands and bow your head. Then from the heart, utter ‘om visnupada paramahamsa astottara-sata sri rupanugacarya..etc’…with the full honorific title. Then your honour for Sri Guru will inculcate honour in others and benefit them.”

"One who chants the Holy Name will never be in want of anything. You can test it yourself. Leave all work and worldly engagements and exclusively serve the Holy Name. If you faithfully chant lakhs of harinama daily, whatever you need, Sri Krsna will personally break a hole in your roof and drop it into your lap."

Once the acarya of a worldwide mission came for the darsana of Srila Gurudeva to ask, “How can we unite all the various Gaudiya Vaisnava groups and institutions in the spirit of the Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Royal Assembly of Universal Saints (Visva-vaisnava Raja Sabha)?”

Srila Gurudeva deliberated for a moment then replied, “Study the Jaiva Dharma of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.”

It is such a deep and practical answer. The principles expounded by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Jaiva Dharma unite all religious conceptions. They resolve the conflicts over the paths of vaidhi and raganuga. And finally they resolve the conflicts between the different approaches to raganuga-bhakti, namely, the antah pantha (internal path of Rupa-raghunatha) and the bahih pantha (external path of Dhyanacandra Gosvami).

When the occasion arose to glorify the life and teachings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Gurudeva expressed his internal realization, “The joy I feel when speaking about Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has exactly the same flavour and intensity as the joy I feel when speaking about Srila Rupa Gosvami.”

Srila Gurudeva used to say, “The love of the Vraja gopis is so inconceivably glorious that if you are even slightly touched by the air that has touched the katha of the Vraja gopis, it is certain that very soon, in this life or the next life, you will attain Krsna-prema.”

As a dasi of Srimati Radhika, Srila Gurudeva could not tolerate the remotest slight towards her.

Once in a dharma-sabha (religious assembly) at Govardhana, a brahmana pandita began to glorify Sri Radha with a poem in Vraja Bhasa:

राधा तू बड़भागिनी कौन तपस्या कीन ।

तीन लोक तारनतरन सो तेरे आधीन ।।

Radha tu bada bhagini kaun tapasya kina

Tina loka taranatarana so tere adhina

“O Radha! You are so fortunate. What austerities did you perform that Sri Krsna, who delivers the three worlds, has become subordinate to your love?”

Any ordinary person would be quite satisfied with such an extraordinary glorification, but for Srila Gurudeva, it was intolerable. Upon hearing only the first line, ““O Radha! You are so fortunate. What austerities did you perform?” he sharply interjected, “No! You should say, ‘O Krsna, you are so fortunate. What austerities did You perform to have the chance to serve Srimati Radhika?’” He could not tolerate the idea of Srimati Radhika undergoing any hardship. Let Sri Krsna perform the austerities. Everyone was astounded by his spontaneous loyalty to Sri Radha, aprakrta-radha-nistha.

Once in public assembly of sadhus, a great acarya was glorifying Srila Haridasa Thakura by saying, “Namacarya Srila Haridasa Thakura used to chant 300,000 names of Sri Krsna every day. We have not heard that even Srila Rupa Gosvami used to chant so much.”

Srila Gurudeva commented, “Yes. It is true that Srila Rupa Gosvami did not chant so much. But one name of Sri Krsna chanted by Srila Rupa Gosvami is worth more than all the 300,000 names chanted by Srila Haridasa Thakura.”

Although it may be difficult for a general person to grasp, still, it is no exaggeration. In Vraja-lila, Srila Rupa Gosvami is Sri Rupa Manjari, the leader of the maidservants of Srimati Radhika. Even Sri Krsna will have to beg Sri Rupa Manjari with flattering words for permission to meet with his beloved Radhika.

In this way, I offer my sraddha-puspanjali (the flowers of faith) at the feet of my Holy Master and pray for his causeless mercy to be eternally engaged in his service. It is impossible to express the glories of such a saint directly. May the vaisnavas be satisfied by this paroksa-vada (indirect description) of Srila Gurudeva’s divine character and bathe in the endless waves of dhvani (suggestion) contained therein.

sri hari guru vaisnava krpa lesa prarthi,

Prem Prayojan das