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Kalidaha is an ancient pilgrimage place in Vrindavan. Almost 5000 years from present day Lord Krsna made the serpent Kaliya leave this place and purified the poisonous waters of river Yamuna. In the present day ,at the same pious place where Lord Krsna performed the Kaliyanaga Leela, exists the ashram of Shri Haridas Shashtriji Maharaja.
In the former part of the ashram exists a large Goshala with around 125 cows. In the ashram the cows are serviced with love and not raised for commercial purposes. The cows are services by Maharaji Himself even in his ripe old age.
Maharaji is over 90 years old. He was born in a very wealthy and pious family. However he forsake all the opulence and at the age of 15 he left home for Vrindavan where he met the most learned saint in Vrindavan, Pandit Baba. Maharaji lived with Pandit Baba and served him sincerely. Pandit Baba belonged to the family of royal priests of Jaipur, Rajasthan. He had not given initiation to anyone except a very saintly, highly learned and devout Sri Sri Vinod Vihari Goswami. Pandit Baba decided that Maharaji should be initiated by his only disciple who lived at Kalidaha.
Goswami Prabhuji was a great vaisnava and an accomplished scholar of Vaisnava philosophy. He was greatly honored in the Vaisnava community for his simplicity, scholarship and for his stauch adherence to the Vaisnava code of conduct. On the order of his Guru, Maharaji went to Benares to continue his studies. Benares is the most famous seat of learning of the Vedic philosophies in India.
Maharaji studied intensely for 12 years earning 9 graduate and 3 post graduate degrees. These 12 degrees are: Kavya Tirtha, Vyakarana-Tirtha, Sankhya Tirtha, Mimamsa-Tirtha, Vedanta Tirtha, Vaisesikar-Tirtha, Navya-Nyaya Sastri, Navya Nyayachacarya, Takra-Tirtha, Tarka-Tirtha (anumnana), Tarka Tirtha (Sabda) and Vaisnava Darshana Tirtha. In addition he graduated in chandas (metrical science) and Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology) and other disciplines. At the present time there are very few saints or scholars so qualified in India.
He has translated and published 80 rare books of the Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya into Hindi and Bengali. His exceptional work is the Vedanta Darshanam. Lord Chaitanya said that Srimad Bhagavatam is the natural comentary on the Brahma Sutra. However there had never before been a complete link between the two works. In his work Vedanta Darshanam, Maharaji has performed an amazing feat of linking every verse of Srimad Bhagavatam (which has over 18000 verses) to every corresponding aphorism of the Brahma Sutra. The Nagari Pracarini Sabha of Benares honored him with an award for this work.
Maharaji is especially devoted to cows. He lovingly serves the cows in the ashram and knows each one by name. Each day he personally serves the cows with great affection. Cows are an indispensable part of vedic culture and Vaisnava dharma. Even Lord Krishna who is the supreme worshippable Lord, considers himself a simple cowherd.
The ashram ambience is similar to that of ancient times gurukuls. The ashram boasts of a large library which houses printed and hand written Vedic scriptures. The ashram also has a printing press which is called Sri Gadhadara GauraHari press and it has published around 80 Vedic scriptures in Sanskrit, Hindi and Bengali.
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