Mahanidhi Swami -

Just what is Maharaja`s story? He`s the only ISKCON devotee floating around the banks of the Kunda most of the time, yes? He is a Sadhaka of sorts. no? Does he initiate that you know of? I`m just curious because I see his books are flying around New Vrindaban quite a bit..I think I have 4 now.

Brajamani

Madhava will tell you more, but he is a very special soul. Very favourable of some of Radhakunda Babas, and very intelligent and devotional.

On the other side he doesn't give initiations. I knew two people who were aspiring for him for years. One became Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaja disciple (a very, very good choice in Gaudiya Matha, then back in those days...), and other one is my gurusister Sakhi Priya Dasi who is now initiated by my Baba, also by indirect recommendation by Maharaja.

I've found his book on Samadhis in Braja to be one of a kind.. begging for a bigger and better treatment. I'm saddened to hear he will not be writing any more books.. I would have loved to see a follow-up/expansion of this book...

I met him once in Vraja.
i was on the way to the Kripaluji ashrama just for visiting..
then he came by and i asked him about Kripaluji Maharaja.
Mahanidhi Maharaja said: " wow, man, he´s for real!" with a huge smile and then went on.

i liked him a lot and i thought that he will smash Kripaluji ISCKON-style, but he is really very amiable.

his books helped me a lot in matters of raganuga-bhakti.

dandavats to him.

Tarunji

No, he doesn't give diksha. What's his story? Hmm. He likes to stay at Radha-kunda and do bhajan? A very friendly fellow. Is that good for a story? I can ask him for a story if you like.

Hmm. Sorry to bother.

It's a not-so-well-kept secret, I think, that Mahanidhi Maharaja is very attracted to Ananta das babaji. I'm not surprised that he gave Sakhi Priya indirect advice to seek babaji's shelter. I haven't met him, but I have friends who have, and they really like him.

I can fill you in with more, Brajamani, if you are interested, when I pop in for a visit sometime next week to his ashram. I really don't know all that much about his story as such. He is an Indian citizen now, that I think I didn't mention, so he is in a good position to stay at Radha-kunda as long as he likes. With the blessings of Radharani, of course, but theoretically speaking.

I intend to be finished MK today (for real this time), but it would probably be good for someone to do another once over. I really have no more time, but there are bound to be oversights and a few rough patches. Maybe Mahanidhi Maharaj would be willing to do that.

I can ask him, no problem. However he just gave away his laptop, so it'll have to be a printout. That is, if he has the time and the inspiration for it. I don't have a laser printer here, perhaps Rasaraja or someone can bring over a printout once they come over to Vraja.

I know Mahanidhi Maharaja from his days as a brahmacari in the Berkeley temple. He is a very serious and humble devotee. When I associated with him he was very focused on book distribution as his main service. Other than that, he read quite a bit and he chanted. He was a very sober and focused devotee. I have very fond memories of going to the S.F. airport with him and distributing books. I was always very taken back by his honest humility and his intense focus on devotional practices. He is a very special sadhaka.

Dandavats. All glories to the Vaisnavas.

jagat - Send me the final version and I will print some copies and bring to Vraja so all of us can begin pouring over it.

Aspiring to serve the Vaisnavas,
Rasaraja dasa

Good idea. I can throw myself at some proof-reading.

I went twice on parikram in Vrindavan with Mahanidhi Maharaja, and it was wonderful. Through him I could experience a glimpse of the magic of Vraja, and for this I am eternally grateful to him. I wanted to go Govardhana, but that parikram got canceled, and I ended up going to Varshana instead with him. It was Shri Radha's mercy. I remember the kirtan in the Krishna Balaram Mandir after the parikram around Vrindavan, devotees were throwing flower petals on each other and on the Maharaja who danced his heart out. It is one of the sweetest memories of my time in ISKCON.

I like so many things about Mahanidhi Maharaja. One point which I've learned from him very well is that respecting and encouraging the *faith* of other Vaisnavas is crucial to respecting and encouraging them.

Whenever I see him he always says something wonderful about my Guru Maharaja. With the genuine heart of a Vaisnava he'll say something very encouraging. Last year I saw him and thanked him for his book "Art of Chanting Hare Krishna." I told him that I found many of his points very helpful and favorable for my chanting. He immediately said "Oh, your Guru Maharaja is like an acarya for chanting! He is so determined in his chanting!" It was really nice. It's very favorable to my guru-bhakti to hear such things, and strong guru-nistha is foundational for spiritual advancement. Mahanidhi Maharaja is fantastic association because he understands the essence of Vaisnava behavior, and sets a very nice example in follwing it. He has always struck me as being quite transcendental to politics or fighting. I always feel enlivened after seeing him and hearing from him.

Maybe sometimes we feel it is our service to point out different understandings or points of contention between different Vaisnava groups, but I think that we should never forget to be sensative to this point: that respecting other Vaisnavas (which is always desirable, as in &quoª¶maHS
(Dïmanadena") means respecting their faith, even if it may be a little different from our own.

Even once I remember taking lunch with him and him appreciating what a difficult job it is to be a GBC and a leader of ISKCON. He was appreciating how you have to deal with so many opinions and all kinds of people criticizing you and that it's very difficult to manage a spiritual society. He praised his Godbrothers on the GBC and said "they're very good leaders." He said that a few times. In his Vaisnava humilty he admitted that he didn't think he would be able to do the service on leading in ISKCON. I found his humility in this way very sobering and instructive. Who am I to criticize the devotees trying to manage ISKCON? Would I really be able to do a better job?

Actually, now that I'm remembering him, I'm thinking of so many stories... He's such a great person. I hope he wouldn't mind me writing these couple of short stories here.

We had a good time the day before yesterday with him, as he popped in for a visit at our place. As he missed the festival of Siddha Krishna Das Baba of Ranbari, I showed him the videos I had shot and patched together. (Which you'll all be able to download sometime soon.)

I remember him in America as a travelling preacher sanyasi in the early 80's, very meek ,humble and serious about devotional practices. Also at the Radha Damodara temple where he would always live as a most humble mendicant sanyasi.

He intiated two aspiring bhaktas at the Potomac ISKCON temple (circa 1986). But he later saw the light and stopped doing initiations. A lot of things happened to him since then bringing him closer to raganuga bhajan, especially since he made that decision to become an Indian citizen....

All glories to Mahanidhi Swami ! ! !

Mahanidhi Maharaja was a "new bhakta" at the same time I was in L.A. back in 1975.
He received initiation via the rtvik method at the same time I did. He might have gotten harinama at the same initation or just a few weeks before I did in early 1975. I can't remember exactly.
Mahanidhi Maharaja was a very sattvic fellow. He was studying chiropracty just before he gave that up to join the movement. He used to do some back work and basic chiropracty on some of the devotees there with some back issues.
He has been a very steady sadhaka since he joined the movement in early 1975.

He is definitly a product of the rtvik system of ISKCON. He never had any real intimate association with Swami A.C. Bhaktivedanta. Much like myself, all he ever got was some lecture darshans, some prasadam from the plate and hand of Swami Prabhupada etc.

Mahanidhi Maharaja is a very nice devotee. I have always admired and respected his steadiness and adherence to sadhana bhakti.

There were lots of nectar devotees back in them days when the movement was at it's peak.