Whilst wandering through Vraja dhama, Sri Gour Gopalananda (Srila Gour Govinda Swami) eventually headed to the Iskcon property at Raman Reti, where the Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Temple was still very much under construction. There he was given a copy of Back to Godhead magazine in which he found the teachings what he was looking for – he discovered in that magazine the very person he was looking for, the person who could perfectly reveal Bhagavatam, Krishna and Mahaprabhu – and he was also quite struck with amazement to see that this was and International society, that Westerners had taken to the path of bhakti, that they had shaven heads with sikha, wearing tilak and dhoti. He decided that he must meet the sadhu who was responsible for this most wonderful feat.

He discovered that the founder of this International Society for Krishna Consciousness was staying on the property at that time, so he approached one of these amazing Western Vaishnavas and asked if he could pay his respects to Srila Prabhupada. After some discussion, Brahmananda Swami took him in to speak with Iskcon’s Founder-Acarya Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and instantly Gour Gopalananda fell down flat offering his full dandavats. As he arose, Srila Prabhupada asked him about himself, “Have you taken sannyasa?” Upon hearing Gour Gopalananda’s negative response, Srila Prabhupada told him, “Then I will give you sannyasa!”

At that very moment Srila Gour Govinda Swami accepted Srila Prabhupada as his eternal spiritual master… Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja later related how he felt, “I immediately knew, “Oh, this is paramatma; what I am looking for now, it is here. Yes, I have gotten now. I have gotten now.” You see this is Krishna’s arrangement. How we can find our Guru? What is your inside, he’ll speak, you see. Only two or three questions he asked. I immediately surrendered!”

From that moment their relationship of sat-sisya, the totally surrendered disciple, and sat-guru, bona fide maha-bhagavata spiritual master, was re-established.