In 1974 HDG Srila Gour Govinda Swami, who was a devotee of the Lord from his birth, renounced family life and became a wandering sādhu known as Gour Gopalananda. He wore saffron cloth and carried with him a copy of the Bhagavad-gīta, a pen and notebook as he travelled through the sacred sites of Bharat-varsa, India, searching out that divine personality who could clearly explain to him the meaning of the Bhāgavatam in light of Mahaprabhu’s teachings.

After visiting many of the pilgrimage places in northern India where he spoke with a variety of sādhus, yogis and holy men, knowing that his quest had met with no success, he decided to head down to Lord Krishna’s own sacred land of Sri Vrindavan dhama, where surely the Lord would fulfill his desires. Upon arriving at Mathura-Vrindavan he visited different ashrams, where because of his outward appearance of matted hair, beard and torn saffron gamcha it was usually assumed that he was simply another wandering sādhu, not a Vaishnava. During this time he spent four days at Sri Keshavaji Gaudiya Matha in Mathura.

Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gour Govinda Swami wearing a red cheddar

At that very moment Srila Gour Govinda Swami accepted Srila Prabhupāda as his eternal spiritual master. Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja later related how he felt, “I immediately knew, “Oh, this is paramatma; what I am looking for now, it is here. Yes, I have gotten now. I have gotten now.” You see this is Krishna’s arrangement. How we can find our Guru? What is your inside, he’ll speak, you see. Only two or three questions he asked. I immediately surrendered!”

From that moment their relationship of sat-sisya, the totally surrendered disciple, and sat-guru, bona fide mahā-bhagavata spiritual master, was re-established.

— Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.16, 10 March 1995

Re-posted from www.gourgovindaswami.org
From a class on Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.92 Bhubaneswar

The Gaudiya sampradaya, the parampara of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is a bona fide Vaisnava sampradaya. One should accept the instructions with a simple heart, which are coming from the acaryas in this parampara as it is, and practice them in one’s life. Then you will get the mercy of Sriman Mahaprabhu.

Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gour Govinda Swami (hand in beadbag)

We are not speaking anything pseudo-sampradayist. We should not hear the words of pseudo-sampradayists. When Mahaprabhu ordered, “You become guru and deliver this world,” that instruction has come unto my guru, Srila Prabhupada, and my guru gave me this same order. So I will never develop any duplicity or crookedness in executing this order. That means I will never come in murkha-sampradaya or kapatya-sampradaya or phalgu-sampradaya, the schools of fools, hypocrites and pretenders. I will never teach duplicity or crookedness to anybody.

Those who are visayis, materialistic persons, are duplicitous, crooked and envious; they come under pseudo-sampradaya. They are selfish persons. Those who are under the bonafide sampradaya coming from Sriman Gauranga Mahaprabhu, they are so powerful that they kick all such sampradaya. They are always, twenty-four hours, day and night, engaged in loving service to the lotus feet of Radha and Krishna, executing the order of their guru. They never desist from rendering pure service without duplicity (niskapata seva.) An Acarya is natural, not pretending, he is not pretentious. He is not pretending as acarya. He is a natural acarya, not artificial. He is more humble than a blade of grass lying on the street and as tolerant as a tree. He gives respect to one and all, seeing Krsna in everybody and never demands respect for himself.

Our teachings, which are coming through our parampara are true, coming from Mahaprabhu. They are our sadacara, our regulative principle. They are law for all humanity. And this law, this sadacara, has come down to us through parampara. If we disrespect it, if we don’t execute in our life, if we add any deliberation, if we twist it, then we will become offenders. We will commit offence by not obeying the orders of guru. Yes, namaparadha. Then we will be far away from the lotus feet of our guru. Guru will never keep us at his lotus feet. If, in order to execute, to obey the order of my guru, it is needed to become very proud, I will never hesitate to become very proud. If it is needed to become an animal, I will never hesitate to become an animal. If it is needed to go to hell for my guru, I will never hesitate to do it. Do you follow me? That is how to execute the order of the guru. That is how to become a true follower of guru.

One speck of dust …

I will never hesitate to do it. I will never hear from anyone but my guru. Those who are saying something different from this teaching coming through bonafide parampara, coming from Sriman Mahaprabhu – we will never listen to them. If somebody says something different, then like Bhimasena, with my fist, I will crush it. I will destroy it. I will defeat it. I am so proud. With just one speck of dust from the lotus feet of my guru, crores and crores of people of this world will be delivered. You should understand how powerful one little speck of dust of my guru’s lotus feet is. There is no such a scholar as my guru. I will never accept anyone else as a scholar. There are no such teachings as those that my guru has imparted, to be found in any human being, or in any demigod, I know it very well. No one else can give such teachings. There is nothing in this world that is as heavy as a tiny speck of dust from the lotus feet of my guru. This is the follower of true parampara. I am following such parampara. This is the teaching; one should understand it very well.

…He (Srila Prabhupada) is empowered! Can’t you understand this thing? Why couldn’t they (Srila Prabhupada’s god brothers) do this thing? Why do they come at this time and do now, when the atmosphere is created, the platform is there, foundations are already laid, some construction is there? Now they are coming. Now you are going there, leaving ISKCON camp. Such foolishness! You are such a fool! Can’t you understand this thing? Thereby they are committing such offense. [Srila Prabhupada’s god brothers say] He has given only elementary knowledge ABC, nothing higher. You can’t understand what he (Srila Prabhupada) has said. When a tiny seed is there, it contains, like the seed of a banyan tree, so tiny, but it contains a great banyan tree inside. You, fool, cannot understand this thing. So intolerable. As a disciple of my Guru Maharaja and as a member of his founded society ISKCON, it is our duty to keep up the prestige. Yes, it is our duty now.

Kṛṣṇa is viṣaya-vigraha, the object of love, and guru-vaiṣṇava is āśraya-vigraha, the abode of love. The only activity of such guru-vaiṣṇavas is hari-kīrtana. They have no other activity. Unless the āśraya-vigraha-avatāra ācārya-śrī-gurudeva does kīrtana, how can you understand the tattva of the viṣaya-vigraha? How can you understand the tattva of the nāma, rūpa, guṇa, parikara, and līlā of viṣaya-vigraha? We cannot understand unless ācārya-gurudeva does kīrtana.

— Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.16, 10 March 1995

Lāguḍi dāsa: We called other doctors, but we were advised not to give Gour Govinda Mahārāja medicine if he did not want to take it. “Do not force him,” they said, “and if he does not want to eat, then do not force him.” He neither ate nor drank. He was in kṛṣṇa-prema. This is what Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī had told us. Bābājī Mahārāja believed that he was a mahā-bhāgavata.

From what I can understand, Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī was very encouraged that Śrīla Prabhupāda had one disciple like this: a mahā-bhāgavata. I was there in the room when Bābājī Mahārāja paid his obeisances to Gour Govinda Mahārāja and said‚ “He is a mahā-bhāgavata, do not disturb him.”

Then the devotees asked the kavirāja‚ “Śrīla Prabhupāda was matured‚ he could play at madhyama-adhikārī, but if one is not matured, how can he play it both ways?” The kavirāja said to them‚ “If he does not disappear‚ if Kṛṣṇa does not take him, then he will become a rare personality, a great preacher – an ācārya. Everyone will see!”

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca
saṁśayātmā vinaśyati
nāyaṁ loko ’sti na paro
na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ

Then the devotees asked the kavirāja‚ “Śrīla Prabhupāda was matured‚ he could play at madhyama-adhikārī, but if one is not matured, how can he play it both ways?” The kavirāja said to them‚ “If he does not disappear‚ if Kṛṣṇa does not take him, then he will become a rare personality, a great preacher – an ācārya. Everyone will see!”

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca
saṁśayātmā vinaśyati
nāyaṁ loko ’sti na paro
na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ

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