His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Current President-Sevaite-Acharya of the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math
pujya-sri-guru-varga-vandita-mahabhavanvitayaḥ sada
paurvaparya-parampara-prachalita-prajya-pramurtakrteh
bhakter nirmala-nirjharasya nibhritam samrakshakam sadaram
vande sri-gurudevam anata-sira acharya-varyam nijam
(Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj)
“I bow my head in eternal obeisance to my Gurudev, the best of Acharyas, Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj. He is the ever vigilant, stalwart guardian of the current of pure devotion whose highest form flows from our most worshippable Sri Rupanuga Guru-varga in their exclusive dedication to Mahabhava, Srimati Radharani.”
prerakam prachya paschatya siṣyanam bhakti-vartmani
bhakti-nirmalam-acharyya-swaminam pranamamy aham
(Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj)
“I offer my respectful obeisances to Swami Bhakti Nirmal Acharya, who is energetically inspiring all of Eastern and Western disciples on the path of pure devotion.”
tara priya manonita, achara-prachare rata bhakti-nirmala sri-Acharya nama
(Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj)
“The dearmost disciple and chosen successor of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj who is always devotedly engaged in practicing and preaching his divine conception of pure devotion, is known by the name Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj.”
A Brief Biography of Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj surrendered at the lotus feet of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj in 1992, and immediately began serving His Divine Grace and his Mission, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, with full energy. Excelling in all fields of service, Srila Acharya Maharaj’s earnest desire to satisfy Srila Govinda Maharaj has always been evident for all to see. His traveling throughout India leading pilgrimage parties, collecting foodstuffs and supplies for the Math’s service and establishing centers has profoundly increased public participation in the Mission of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. His dynamic international preaching as Srila Govinda Maharaj’s representative has attracted the hearts of devotees worldwide and inspired them with new life in their practice of Krishna consciousness. His extensive works expanding the facilities of the Mission include manifesting gloriously Sri Govinda Kunda, the long-standing desire of Srila Sridhar Maharaj, as well as establishing beautiful temples in Srila Govinda Maharaj’s divine appearance place of Sripat Bamanpara and in Siliguri. Srila Acharya Maharaj also established an unprecedented temple and ashram in Sri Ekachakra Dham.
On the grand occasion of the inauguration of this ashram, which was likely the largest festival ever arranged by the Math, a day on which Srila Acharya Maharaj made arrangements for 1,00,000 people to take Prasadam, Srila Govinda Maharaj proclaimed in his broadcasted address:
“We are so indebted and so much blissful to Acharya Maharaj because he hears what Guru Maharaj wants, what I want, and he makes that… He has done everything, all arrangements. He has capacity, he has done so much and it is miracle… Sripad Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, he is an impossible man! A miraculous man whose energy is over-flooded for the service of our society. He is my very dear friend, very dear disciple, very dear worker, everything. My blessings to him. He is doing all of my own attending service duties and I am so happy.”
Just prior to this indicative pronouncement Srila Govinda Maharaj also glorified Srila Acharya Maharaj in a darshan in Kolkata in 2009:
“Srila Guru Maharaj trained me from my childhood, ‘Serve the Vaishnavas without enviousness.’ If we see a devotee doing our own job better than us then we must consider that they are doing much good for us. We should not be envious of him. When Acharya Maharaj is doing so much that I cannot do, I am praising him for that, I am not criticizing him.”
Srila Govinda Maharaj gave Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj tridandi-sannyas ten years earlier in 1999 after being prompted by some of his intimate associates to select his successor. In this connection it is noteworthy that Srila Govinda Maharaj previously expressed in private that he would only give the name ‘Acharya Maharaj’ to whom he would select as the next Acharya of the Math so as to make his desire abundantly clear.
After first hinting at his desire through the choice of Srila Acharya Maharaj’s name and publicly indicating his desire through his heartfelt glorifications of Srila Acharya Maharaj, Srila Govinda Maharaj formally dictated his desire in his Last Will and Testament. Furthermore, on the last Sri Vyasa-puja celebration of his manifest Pastimes, 4th December 2009, before a packed assembly and a worldwide audience, Srila Govinda Maharaj publicly declared Srila Acharya Maharaj as his future Successor-Acharya:
“He, (Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj), is highly qualified and I have chosen him as next Acharya of this Math. All of you should unitedly proceed under his guidance, serve under him faithfully and love him. His love for the Math is his greatest quality. That the Math should not lose even one inch of its land, even one inch of its property—he is continuously working towards this end. I am now asking him to speak Hari-katha as my representative… [Following Srila Acharya Maharaj’s speech Srila Govinda Maharaj continued:] Math secretary, Math manager, future Math Acharya, Sripad Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj ki jay! After me, all of you should continue as his followers. Everyone makes mistakes, but I very rarely see anyone with a sincere, heartfelt service mood like him. The type of profound vision and attentive care he has for every matter cannot be seen anywhere. I pray the Lord will bring him all goodness and auspiciousness.”
Following the divine disappearance of Srila Govinda Maharaj, Srila Acharya Maharaj now continues to give great nourishment to the worldwide followers of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. His unparalleled mood of chaste devotion and dynamic preaching both in India and abroad is an invaluable inspiration and shelter for sincere seekers everywhere.