| Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja |
The Unseen Stalwart
As we observe the grand battle for the salvation of our souls in this age of hypocrisy and conflict from our narrow vantage point that is oft obscured by the grogginess of tāmasa and various filters of self-centred absorption in our immeditate physical needs and gratifications, we do notice and on special occasions pay heed to certain stalwart luminaries leading the charge against the deluding potency of māyā. We honor them with flowers, ārati, glorifications, feasts, and other grand gestures of recognition. Right behind those leading generals, or off to one side or the other, or in the very back, are other notable and refulgent personalities who have chosen to take a supporting role, filling out the ranks of this great spiritual army. Without the whole of the army, there is no victory over the nescience afflicting our souls. Our guru-varga does not engage in solo efforts. They serve in unison, in anugatya, and constantly endeavour to recruit new, worthy cadets from among us to join the mission—the only real mission, that of spreading the immortal word of Śrī Śacīnandana Gaurahari.
Today is the disappearance day of one such exalted luminary, one of a glorious constellation that filled our skies in the earlier part of the 20th century, serving and assisting Jagad-guru Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. The name we know him by is Śrīla Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja, but he was born Śrī Vīrendra Ghoṣa in Piljaṅga-grāma in the Khulnā district of East Bengal. The seed of religious contemplations had sprouted early on in his childhood, but it was in his early teenage years that his religious life began to unfold in earnest when he had the darśana of Ācārya-bhāskara Vaiṣṇava-kula-cuḍāmaṇi Paramahaṁsa-svāmī Śrīla Prabhupāda who was preaching the mission of Śrīman Mahāprabhu in the region. This marked the beginning of an entirely new chapter of his life. His mother and father had always been keenly religious, but now the intoxication of worldly knowledge and this fleeting life could not hold his attention any longer. Realizing the transience of life, he felt he could not hesitate. As soon as he could get away from his studies, he went to Māyāpura, where he took full shelter [initiation] at the feet of Ācārya-keśarī Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, becoming Śrī Vīracandra Brahmacārī.
After receiving initiation, he stayed in Māyāpura for a short time and then returned home for a period, taking a job as a government surveyor, perhaps to appease familial obligations. But before long, he returned to Māyāpura and began living full-time in the maṭha. By the blessing of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s merciful glance, this exalted personality adopted a lifelong vow of celibacy and resolved to practice and preach the message of the immortal realm in this world. He was appointed editor of the Śrī Nadiyā Prakāśa and Śrī Gauḍīya for several years. He was enthusiastic in this service to propagate śrī gaura-vāṇī and would often live at the Śrī Bhāgavata Press in Kṛṣṇanagara.
Uncle to Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja
In 1931, Śrī Vīracandra’s young nephew, Śrī Santoṣa, a bright and saintly boy of nine years, visited Māyāpura for the first time. After a week-long parikramā of Navadvīpa Dhāma, hearing hari-kathā, meeting Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Prabhu, and other extraordinary Vaiṣṇavas, young Santoṣa refused to return home. He saw his uncle was living there and he too wanted to live in the āśrama and devote his life to Śrīla Prabhupāda. Though this caused a stir in the family, Śrī Vīracandra Prabhu pacified his sister and other relatives, assuring them he would look after his nephew, have him enrolled in the newly inaugurated school, and see that he received a well-rounded education in the invaluable association of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
This young boy, Santoṣa, would go on to become the leading prodigy of the Gauḍīya Maṭha. While there were other youngsters living in the maṭha at that time, most left later on. It was Santoṣa who stayed, even through the ghastly turmoil that ensued after Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda’s disappearance. He served all the Vaiṣṇavas with utmost sincerity under the guidance of Śrī Narahari Sevā-vigraha Prabhu and Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Kṛti-ratna Prabhu and earned their blessings, as is the way of Vedic sages and students. He developed a perfect eidetic and echoic memory, was the epitome of humility and sincerity, dedicating his whole heart and soul to serving the mission of Śrīman Mahāprabhu and Śrīla Prabhupāda. Though he was very shy and reserved, his brilliance and purity could not go unrecognized. Though he had no desire for leadership, he was eventually appointed the successor of Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. He held together the mission of his gurudeva and Śrīla Prabhupāda with a grace and finesse seldom seen in such arenas, creating a mood of perfect harmony and cooperation. Thus he served as one of the most influential ācāryas of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in the modern age.
“The Expert in Devotion”
The image of Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja’s life is something every living entity seeking auspiciousness ought to have memorized. The distinguishing characteristics that form this image were his keen service tendency from the very beginning of his maṭha life, his unflinching conviction in ŚrīlaPrabhupāda, his diligent search for self-realization, his one-pointed dedication to guru and Vaiṣṇavas that manifested in the finesse with which he rendered his services, his inclination to rendering service to the exclusion of everything else, his lack of ego and arrogance, his composure and gravitas, and his self-control, sincerity, quietness, freedom from envy, and dedication to the service of the bṛhad-mṛdanga. Seeing the expertise he devoted to his services, Śrīla Prabhupāda was very pleased with him and awarded him the title “Bhakti Kuśala – The Expert in Devotion.” His lifelong goal was to preach the message of Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta.
Taking sannyāsa from Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja
It was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s entrance into nitya-līlā that signalled the start of this new chapter in his life, as he reeled from the burden of separation from Śrīla Prabhupāda. He resolved to take tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa and preach bhaktisiddhānta-vāṇī, thereby serving Prabhupāda. He accepted tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa from one of the senior-most sannyāsīs who had been showered with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy: Ācārya-varya 108-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja. Seeing his one-pointed devotion, Prapūjyapāda Śrīla Mahārāja adorned him with the name Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja.
Śrīla Gurudeva Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja fondly recounts how Śrīla Nārasiṁha Mahārāja would make fun of himself, saying that when people would hear his name—“Nārasiṁha”—they would be expecting some large, imposing figure. When they would meet him, a slender brāhmaṇa type with a gentle disposition, they would be puzzled: “You’re Nārasiṁha?!”
The Lifelong Editor
From the very beginning of his life in the maṭha, he was always assisting the founder and president of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti, Paramahaṁsa-svāmī Parivrājakācārya-varya 108-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Seeing his ever-increasing eagerness to preach śrī bhaktisiddhānta vāṇī and knowing he was most suited to the task, Ācāryadeva Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja installed him as the editor of the monthly spiritual periodical Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā. He remained in this role for a long fifteen years and preached the message of Śrī Gaura with great expertise in this way.
He was not only preoccupied with preaching in Bengali, but was eager to preach in Hindi. His contribution to the establishment of Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā-dhāma is incomparable and it was by his inspiration and enthusiasm that publiction of the Hindi language spiritual periodical, Śrī Bhāgavata Patrikā, was begun. Seeing his unflagging enthusiasm in this service, Śrīla Paramagurudeva appointed him the “Pracāra Sampādaka – Preaching Editor” of Śrī Bhāgavata Patrikā.
Right up until his departure, he was avowedly dedicated to these services and served as a pillar of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti. On the 5th of Kārtika, October 23 1967, a Monday, at 8 o’clock in the evening, at the age of 76, Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja, the recipient of Jagad-guru Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Ācārya-varya Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura’s mercy, entered the eternal pastimes in Śrīdhāma Mathurā, in full awareness, performing kīrtana of śrī harināma.
Writing at the time of his departure, a disciple of Śrīla Paramagurudeva, Śrī Viśvarūpa Prabhu, reports: “The sevakas of the Samiti are burning in separation from him and are experiencing a darkness in their hearts in his absence for having lost such a luminary. His memorial assembly was held on the 22nd of Kārtika, the 9th of November, a Wednesday, in Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha. The Samiti’s president, Śrīla Ācāryadeva himself presided as chairman of the assembly. Many gave griefstricken speeches and conveyed their distress with tear-filled eyes. At the end, the chairman briefly narrated the history of his long life and expressed his own sorrow, saying, ‘Śrīla Mahārāja was my right hand. Today it feels like I have lost a limb. Though today he is invisible to our external vision, perhaps we can embody his inspiration and enthusiasm.’”
Śrīla Gurudeva’s Sannyāsa Memory
Śrīla Gurudeva Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja shares another fond memory of Śrīla Mahārāja that was a crucial turning point in his own life. The following is cited from the introduction of A True Servant, A True Master:
“…all three of us expressed that we did not feel qualified to take sannyāsa. First, Vāmana Mahārāja was asked, or perhaps it was Trivikrama Mahārāja, as he was the eldest. Trivikrama Mahārāja was asked if he would take sannyāsa and he said no. When asked why, his reply was: “Look how learned Śrīla Prabhupāda was and also his disciples, what a great scholar Nemi Mahārāja is, how learned Śrauti Mahārāja is, and Guru Mahārāja is. We see them all, what exalted, learned scholars they are.” When Vāmana Mahārāja was asked, he too said he would not accept, so when I was asked, I also said I would not take. Then Śrīla Narasiṁha Mahārāja [Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s uncle] came to me and asked, “You will not take sannyāsa?”
“No,” I said.
“Why?”
“Because I am not qualified.”
“Are you going to decide whether or not you are qualified or is your gurudeva going to decide that?” he asked. “Is your not wanting to take sannyāsa for your own sake or will you take it to serve your gurudeva? What should happen – what your gurudeva wants or what you want? If it’s what you want, then why didn’t you stay in family life?”
He was very persuasive. He got it into my head, so I said, “Fine, I will take, whatever happens. If Gurudeva wants me to be naked, I will be naked. If he gives me sannyāsa, then I will take sannyāsa. If he gives me red cloth, I’ll take that. Whatever he says, I will do. I won’t do anything of my own accord.”
So, then it was decided that just I, Gaura-nārāyaṇa, would take sannyāsa. Guru Mahārāja said, “Yes, it will just be him. No one else is ready to take.”
Later, as the sannyāsa preparations were being made, Pūjyapāda Vāmana Mahārāja and Trivikrama Mahārāja also agreed that if Guru Mahārāja wanted them to take sannyāsa, then they should also take. This is how the three of us were the first to take sannyāsa [in Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti].”
Today, on the disappearance of Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja, our uncle or grand-uncle, we remember his tireless service to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīman Mahāprabhu has literally shaped and curated the vāṇī that is coming to us from the time of Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, nourishing and informing us, keeping us fixed on cultivation of śrī gaura-vāṇī. As editor of the Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, he surely had a close working relationship with Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda who contributed numerous articles to the Patrikā throughout the ‘50s and early ‘60s. We pray fervently to him that he bless us with even a fraction of such dedication and diligence, so that the divine form of śrī bhaktisiddhānta-vāṇī, Viśuddha Sarasvatī Devī herself, may remain enshrined in our hearts and minds and guide us step-by-step to the loving service of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga Rādhā-Vinoda-bihārī Jīu!
https://www.bigdrum.us/disappearance-day-of-srimad-bhakti-kusala-narasimha-maharaja