Translation from Spanish: Manah Siksa Devi Dasi
e-mail: manahsiksa@vrinda.info

The divine life of His Grace Srila Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Swami, more known as Srila Guru Maharaj, is marked since his childhood by various symptoms that according to the Vedic literature point the characteristics of a special soul. Entering deeply into the studies of his personality, we find that even before getting into Krishna consciousness he was already an example of dedication and service to humanity, as the pure devotee of Krishna in every moment is a source of inspiration, and his activities are not ordinary. By the grace of Sri Krishna we will manage to approach this unfathomable ocean of divine qualities, presented in his glorious personality.

During the auspicious month of Kartik, Srila Guru Maharaja had his transcendental appearance in this world, on the 12th of October 1953 in Osterkappeln, Germany. His ancestors were well known artists. His great-grandfather, Walter Harlan, was a famous writer and dramaturge. His grandfather, Peter Harlan, was a great musician who dedicated not only to compose, but also to teach and restore music instruments. His major contribution to this art consisted in reviving the interest for baroque and renaissance music, being the first one in reconstructing, elaborating and making the instruments from these epochs popular.

Peter Harlan and his children were talented and recognized musicians. They lived in Sternberg Castle, a famous building form XIV century that had been conveyed by the German government for the Harlan family to have a museum for the music instruments and to establish a music school and more to offer recitals, which were very appreciated.

For several generations the Harlans have had inclinations towards cultural activities. It was this way that Ulrich Harlan, Srila Guru Maharaja's name of that time, since his childhood had contact with the fine arts, which helped him to develop his innate qualities that later took form in paintings, theatre works and poetry, as well as in various music productions for which he is given honour of recognitions for his unparalleled talent and professionalism.

His childhood was peaceful and candid; every afternoon after school he went to a lake where his father worked as an ecologist and teacher. Since they lived in a little village, they did not perceive the problems with contamination of the grand urban areas. So in this way Ulrich Harlan came to appreciate and respect nature more and more. His parents inculcated in him love for mother earth, which took part in his own philosophy in life. His same actual recommendations have accentuated appreciation and respect for nature.

His family and friends used to call him by the pet name "Uli". During his childhood he had many diseases, especially asthma, which led him to the constant idea that this body is a source of miseries. Even at young age he could perceive that the body was a reason to continuous suffering.

Since his early childhood, Srila Guru Maharaj manifested a firm rejection of materialism and a world of exploitation. Already at the age of 10, he went to the public library to get better informed about the world where he lived. Soon his disillusion for the cheating and abuse made him feel a great attraction for socialism, since he noticed it was fighting for equality and justice. So at the age of twelve he published his first paper in line with this thinking, which was not pleasing the authorities and he was expulsed from school.

During his adolescence Srila Guru Maharaja could understand that the so called "love" in this world is not true, and that beyond the physical exchange there must exist a sublime reality of purity and of true sentiment, where there is neither cheating nor exploitation. Therefore at the age of 17 he made the vow of celibacy for life. In this personal compromise Srila Guru Maharaja decides to not participate in the colossal cheating of false love in this world and to devote to the higher aspects of existence.

His constant searching for something higher made him interested in the "mysticism" of the hippies and the idea to understand better the world by expanding the conscience. He longed for to liberate himself from the contamination represented by false ego, materialism and vanity, and he aspired to reach the true happiness.

During this stage of his life, Srila Guru Maharaja came in contact with the literature of the great yogis from India, and so he experienced a great attraction for mysticism. Soon he was persuaded by the errors of the hippies when they reclaimed that to obtain a higher realization it was necessary to take refuge in hallucinogens. In this way Srila Guru Maharaja had accepted spontaneously the regulating principles and he understood that he needed a spiritual guide. It was like this that he took a great deal of trouble to try to travel to India, but he did not manage because he was still a minor and did not get permission from his father.

Later, and by considerateness from his father, Srila Guru Maharaja studied commercial business where he best learned capitalism and its characteristics, something that did not give him any satisfaction, quite contrary. The call for finding something higher, manifested with stronger intensity than ever in his heart, and due to this he definitely left his studies without any consideration to the expectations from his family and from society.

He departed from home and left his parents in spite of they being cultivated and pious people. His mother, according to the words of Srila Guru Maharaja, is an angel who is very understanding and inclined to spirituality, and his father is a person who in his youth was a Christian preacher, but later became disappointed with the religious institutions.

Srila Guru Maharaja, unlike any other youngster of his age, longed for something more in his life. He wished to dedicate to a higher ideal, to an ideal distinguished by service to humanity and based on the principle of the divine love. Since forever his vocation had been to help others. In the beginning he did it by printing a paper, which was greatly accepted. This epoch was a preparation for the coming mission of his life: to become an instrument of the Absolute Good, a spiritual guide for thousands of persons in the world, to whom he has delivered the divine light of the teachings that were given by his venerable spiritual master, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.