Kshirodakashayi Vishnu Maharaj's New Project

July 11, 2003

The devotional merits of Sripad Kshirodakashayi Vishnu Maharaj are many and as he approaches the venerable age of 73, it may be interesting to have a closer look at his unique personality.

While I am writing this article, a new project of Maharaj is taking shape in the sands of Raman Reti a temple for his beloved Deities Sri Sri Radha Rasa Bihari, at the most sacred site of Vrindavan.

The devotional career of K.Vishnu Maharaj never knew any rest and has been characterized by steady and unshakable determination of a high order. As one of the earliest disciples of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Maharaj received both affection and personal instructions from his learned and powerful guru. Srila Prabhupada surely recognized the many talents of his disciple, who was at that time involved in family life, and gave him several devotional duties.

K. Vishnu Maharaja's main interest and focus has always been in the publishing field. For several years he directed the Hindi edition of Back to Godhead, the spiritual periodical of Iskcon. Afterwards, he printed most of the Hindi writings of the renown devotee and scholar Dr. OBL Kapoor, a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, who spent much time in collecting the biographies of the great saints of the last two centuries in India and abroad. All this editorial work made Kshirodakashayi Vishnu Das quite famous among the intellectual spiritualists.

After the demise of Srila Prabhupada, Kshirodakashayi Vishnu das retired to the sacred land Vrindavan where he founded the Bhaktivedanta Ashram Trust, not far from the prestigious Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir. Bhaktivedanta Ashram functioned and still functions as a hostel for pilgrims and devotees and, as it is kept a pure devotional atmosphere centered around the worship of the Deities, it attracts the minds of many devoted souls who are in need of spiritual refreshment.

At Vrindavan, K.Vishnu das continued to write profusely and started single handedly a spiritual magazine called "Bhagavat Prapti" (Achieving the Divine). His wife, Kirtima dasi and three sons, also educated into the Vaishnava tenets, helped him all the time in his missionary efforts to spread the divine message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

With the departure of his devoted wife, K.Vishnu Das showed his warrior-like character entering the renounced order of life. In 1997 he accepted the staff of renunciation from his own dear Godbrother, the great preacher and stalwart sannyasi Sripad Bhakti Alok Paramadvaiti Maharaj. Srila Paramadvaiti Maharaj did not change his name, but simply added the honorific title "Bhaktivedanta" in the memory of Srila Prabhupada.

Just after sannyasa, BV Kshirodakashayi Vishnu Maharaj went for a European tour speaking for hours on TV and radio channels, featured in newspapers, appeared in theaters, and at gatherings of devotees both big and small in Germany, England and other countries. In all his lectures Maharaj always praised Srila Prabhupada and all the Vaishnavas without any discrimination and with a happy mood. His style, plain although filled with scriptural quotations, has attracted many sincere seekers to the path of bhakti-yoga.

Now Maharaj plans to visit every year the Western countries, and this gives hope to the uncountable people who are deprived of the transcendental knowledge which is contained in the Vaishnava scriptures.

Maharaj's love for Srila Prabhupada is at the basis also of his last publication entitled "Sweet memories of Srila Prabhupada" where Maharaj has collected the numerous letters sent to him by his beloved master.

And it is with desire to please Guru and Vaishnavas that a temple for the beautiful Lordships Sri Sri Radha Rasa Bihari is under construction in these days just few meters from the Iskcon Goshalla at Raman Reti. Maharaja's eyes beam with joy while he talks about this new exciting project.

In light of all these pure spiritual activities, which are the natural corollary of a life of devotion, can there be any doubt about Krishna shakti when a soul surrenders to the Supreme Soul with mind, deeds and words? We pay our respectful pranams at the lotus feet of Sripad BV Kshirodakashayi Vishnu Maharaj with the hope that all his future projects will be fulfilled, by the grace of Sri Sri Radha Ras Bihari.