Sripad Ramdas Babaji - The Divine Nature of His Kirtana

For more than sixty years Sripad Ramdas Babaji Maharaj performed kirtan at various festivals in Braja, Navadwip, and Puri. On one such occasion Babaji Maharaj was performing svapna vilas kirtan at Nidhuvan in Braja. Because he was famed as a siddha mahatma, many of the great Vaisnavas of Braja came to hear his kirtan.

As usual the kirtan was ecstatic and caused people to go mad in bliss. After the kirtan was finished, Babaji Maharaj came to know that Siddha Pandit Ramakrishna Das Babaji had been in attendance. On hearing this news he cried out to a disciple, "Alas! I may have commited a grave offense at the feet of Pandit Babaji! He is siddha in Yugal worship, and we worship Nitai-Gaura. Hearing my kirtan may have caused rasa bhanga to his worship!" In this way Babaji Maharaj was repenting. He instructed his senior disciple, Siddha Gauranga Das Babaji (OBL Kapoor's gurudeva) to go to Pandit Baba on his behalf and seek to be excused from any offense that may have been committed.

Gauranga Das Babaji went to Pandit Babaji's ashram and learned from his disciples that since returning from the kirtan of Ramdas Babaji the day before, Pandit Baba had entered bhava-samadhi. Gauranga Das Babaji had to wait until Pandit Baba came back to external consciousness. When at last Pandit Baba opened his eyes, he noticed Gauranga Das Babaji sitting in front of him. Smiling, he asked the reason for his visit.

Gauranga Das Babaji told Pandit Baba that his Gurudeva had sent him to seek forgiveness on his behalf, for any offense which may have been committed by him while singing in kirtan. Hearing this, Pandit Baba laughed and said, "Gauranga, apparently you do not know who your gurudev is. Do not think that your gurudev is himself performing such astonishing kirtan and improvising such akhar. That Naughty Person who is sitting in his heart tells His own story through the mouth of your divine gurudev. Thus, Siddha Pandit Ramakrishna Das Babaji blessed Siddha Gauranga Das Babaji and sent him back to Siddha Ramdas Babaji Maharaj.