namo gaura-kisoraya sakshad-vairagya-murtaye
vipralambha-rasambhode padambujaya te namah
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja (the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati), who is renunciation personified. He is always merged in a feeling of separation and intense love of Krishna."
(Srila Gaurakisora Pranati)
"Vedic literature, the meaning becomes revealed to a person who has got unflinching faith in God and the spiritual master. Just like Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, he was illiterate, but he became the spiritual master of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami. So the purport of the Vedic literature becomes revealed to a person who has got unflinching faith in God and spiritual master."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, August 21, 1972)
"Spiritual science does not depend on one's academic education. You'll be surprised to know that my grand-spiritual master, my spiritual master's spiritual master, he was illiterate. And my spiritual master was the learned, greatest learned scholar of his age. Now, how he became the disciple of an illiterate man? So, but that Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja... His name was Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, my spiritual master's spiritual master, my grand-spiritual master. So he was illiterate, but when you asked him some question, some intricate question of spiritual significance, he'll answer you immediately very nicely. That is realization."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, January 12, 1968)
"So in the Kali-yuga we do not expect everyone to be very great scholar. That is not possible. But if he knows what is the aim of education, what is the objective of education, then he is also scholar. Just like our Gaura-Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. He was illiterate. He could not sign his name even. But he became the spiritual master of the best scholar of his time, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. So it is not the education, A-B-C-D. In Bengal we say anguam... No. What is the purport of education? The purport of education is spoken by Krishna Himself: vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). If one understands Krishna and takes to the shelter of His lotus feet, he is also the biggest scholar."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Vrindavan, November 28, 1976)
"There is a practical example set for us by Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, who used to sit on the side of a latrine to chant Hare Krishna. Many materialistic persons used to come and bother him and disturb his daily routine of chanting, so to avoid their company he used to sit by the side of a latrine, where materialistic persons would not go because of the filth and the obnoxious smell. However, Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was so great that he was accepted as the spiritual master of such a great personality as His Divine Grace Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.2.18, Purport)
"Paramahamsa, they do not come in the society because people may imitate and they fall down. Therefore they are aloof. Just like Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. He was aloof, bhajananandi. But one who will act as preacher or spiritual master, even if he is paramahamsa, he should live ordinary so that his disciples may follow. He comes to second stage. Paramahamsa is the first stage, and preacher is in the second stage, and neophytes are in the third stage."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Surat, December 19, 1970)
"So far as your second question, Thakur Bhaktivinode was not official Spiritual Master of Gour Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja. Gour Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaj was already renounced order, Paramahamsa, but Thakur Bhaktivinode, while He was even playing the part of a householder, was treated by Gour Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaj as Preceptor, on account of His highly elevated spiritual understanding, and thus He was always treating Him as His Spiritual Master. The Spiritual Master is divided into two parts; namely, siksa guru and diksa guru. So officially Bhaktivinode Thakur was like siksa guru of Gour Kishora das Babaji Maharaj."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, May 1, 1969)
"So we are receiving knowledge through the acaryas. Krishna spoke to Arjuna, Arjuna spoke to Vyasadeva. Arjuna actually did not speak to Vyasadeva, but Vyasadeva heard it, Krishna speaking, and he noted down in his book Mahabharata. This Bhagavad-gita is found in Mahabharata. So we accept the authorities of Vyasa. And from Vyasa, Madhvacarya; from Madhvacarya, so many disciplic succession, up to Madhavendra Puri. Then Madhavendra Puri to Isvara Puri; from Isvara Puri to Lord Caitanyadeva; from Lord Caitanyadeva to six Gosvamis; from six Gosvamis to Krishnadasa Kaviraja; from him, Srinivasa Acarya; from him, Visvanatha Cakravarti; from him, Jagannatha dasa Babaji; then Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji; Bhaktivinoda Thakura; my spiritual master. The same thing, we are preaching.
That is Krishna consciousness movement. It is nothing new. It is coming down from the original speaker, Krishna, by disciplic succession. So we are reading this Bhagavad-gita. Not that I have manufactured some book and I am preaching. No. I am preaching Bhagavad-gita. The same Bhagavad-gita as it was first spoken forty millions of years ago to the sun-god and again it was repeated five thousand years ago to Arjuna, the same thing is coming down by disciplic succession, and the same thing is presented before you. There is no change."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Pittsburgh, September 8, 1972)
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