Prankrishna Baba

Prankrishna Baba is an amazing, wonderful and stupendous personality. At the young age of 92, he pays 108 dandavats to numerous Deities and Vaishnavs. You always find him engaged in seva. His kirtan-enthusiasm is so infectious that you cannot help but be touched by it. In addition, his humility knows no bounds. In spite of being in the position of a Gurudev, He serves the Vaishnavs prasādam with his own hands. Baba often cooks and serves prasādam to the Vaishnavs. After he has fed everybody – the babajis, matajis and children – then he partakes of prasādam. Once, I actually saw him collect the remnants from the Vaishnavs’ plates after they have eaten, go behind a pillar, and secretly eat it. Baba always attends the Harikathā, although the speaker may be someone like my god-brother who is so young to him in all respects. Baba sits and listens with rapt attention, and later praises him to other devotees
His interaction with his disciples too is very loving. It is so touching to see his disciples put morsels lovingly in his mouth. His agility and alertness takes my breath away. Even this Gour Purnima (2009), guess what I found him doing? Doing dandavati parikramā of Radhakund of course !! Baba has a keen ras for Mahamantra. He sits down anywhere and everywhere Mahamantra Kirtan may be going on, and joins in. He doesn’t care whether he himself can or cannot sing, and whether the other devotees sing properly or not – as long it is Mahamantra, he is happy if you join in. Sometimes he sits alone at Tamal-tala singing Mahamantra – not caring for anyone giving him company or not. He is one Vaishnav I can guarantee has realized happiness within himself. He sings and dances on his own. The best scene I like is – his army of child-Vaishnavs hugging his hips, some put their arms around his shoulders and try to keep pace with him as he sings and dances along the parikramā path.
Once the bone in his hip was displaced. The doctor strictly told him – “bed-rest”, since there is no other way to set the bone in the hip. After a week or so, we saw Baba sitting behind a bicycle driven by his disciple, and doing Radhakund-parikramā. Exactly after 17 days, he was up on his feet singing as usual.

Baba is basically from Ttripura, at the age of 14, he left home to come to Nabadweep and serve his Gurudev n his house. Later on he shifted to Radhakund. He has not left Braj ever since. After coming to Radhakund, for twenty years, Baba used to go for madhukari once a week. He would collect rotis, and dry them. Then he would powder them and store in a box. Whenver he felt hungry, he would mix some powder in water and have it. Amazing, is it not? Even now, you will find Baba just takes all items of prasaadam (he avoids sweets and fried delicacies), all on a single plate, mixes them thoroughly, and then has it with pleasure.
His main instruction is - "Incessantly chant the Mahamantra, and NEVER be without seva, for them Maya will not be able to enter you."
He gave me very nice instructions for Bhajan in the beginning stages and in the very high levels also. But that will be some other time……….