When Good Fortune Arises (Life and Teaching of Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja)

It was 1983 when I first met His Holiness Gour Govinda Maharaja. That event is forever etched in my heart. It was night and Brahmananda Swami and I traveled to an isolated jungle area in Bhubaneswar where some crude construction had begun. I wondered, "Where is that saint that I had heard so much about?" I yearned to meet him. We were led to a mud hut. Inside, the walls were raw mud, as was the floor. A straw mat and a low table were the only furniture that I remember. Sitting near a lantern, immersed in writing, Gour Govinda Maharaja put down his pen and rose to greet us. In that setting, his smile, sweet words and embrace made me feel that I had been transported into Lord Chaitanya's divine pastimes.