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Attachment to the Bhagavatam
Pata Devi was eager that her Braja-bandhu would become a devotee
of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and she became very happy seeing that by her influence
her el¬dest son was developing such attachment. By the age of eight
Braja-bandhu had read the entire Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and
SriCaitanya-caritamrta, and he could also explain their meanings. At night many
villagers would come to hear his recitation of the Oriya Bhagavata, Ramayana
and Mahabharata. However, young Braja-bandhu was particularly attached to the
Srimad-Bhagavatam. His old friend Fakir Charan Das recounts:Sriia Gurudeva once
lold me that when¬ever as a young boy he would became ' naughty and not stop
crying, his mother would simply put the Srimad-Bhagavatam in his hands and he
would stop. He was so much inclined to read the Bhagava tarn that if he were ;
reading he would forget to take his meal. The family was too poor to afford
candles or a lamp for reading, so in the evening he would sit close to his
mother's cooking fire and read Šrimad-Bhagavatam. At night he would go to sleep
clutching the Bhagavatam to his chest.From 1942 to 1945 Braja-bandhu stayed in
Gadeigiri with his maternal uncles Gopinath and Jagannath Giri and he attended
high school in nearby Balikuda. Gopinath and Jagannath Giri were both fond of
performing kirtan. They would regularly go out to chant in the neighboring
area, and it was not uncommon for them to travel to distant villages for
chanting. Often they would perform nonstop kirtan for one or two days at a
time. They were very fond of singing traditional Orissan songs of Krishna's
pastimes as well as the songs of Srila Narottama Das Thakur. Whenever possible,
young Braja-bandhu would chant with them, and by their association he became
deeply attached to performing kirtan.
Although Braja-bandhu would often engage in kirtan with his
uncles, still he did not neglect his school studies. During the day
Braja-bandhu would engage in study, in the evening he would join the kirtan,
then in the early morning he would come back to Gopal's temple to render
service. Young Braja-bandhu was a quiet and serious child. He did not engage in
play with the other children and he showed no interest in cinema or mundane
theatre. Whatever free time he had after completing his studies he would spend
doing kirtan with his uncles or in rendering various services to Gopal.
Braja-bandhu would clean Gopal's temple, pick flowers for His worship, make garlands,
and recite verses and songs for Gopal's pleasure. He would never take any food
that was not offered to Gopal. As a child he was not interested in sleep and
would only rest for three or four hours a night, a habit he maintained his
whole life.Ghanashyam Giri was taking care of Gopal's worship. Braja-bandhu
would come and together they would perform kirtan and render service to Gopal.
Damodar Giri was a good singer and was expert in kirtan. He was working in
Bengal, but whenever he got the opportunity he would come to Gopal to perform
ktrtan. These three, Ghanashyam Giri, Damodar Giri and Braja-bandhu often sat
together and performed kirtan.