Brief Report Of 5th World Tour

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Brief Report Of Fifth World Tour

 

BY SYAMARANI DASI

 

INDIA, Apr 6 (VNN) — A Brief Report Of The Fifth World Tour -- Dec

2000 - Feb 2001

 

On this, his fifth world preaching tour since 1996, Paramapujyapada

Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja visited Germany,

Brazil, San Diego, Hawaii, New Zealand, four cities in Australia,

Bali, and finally Singapore.

 

Thousands of devotees around the world attended his international

festivals, lecture programs and home darsanas, and at least five

hundred were blessed with harinama or diksa initiations.

 

As often takes place on these tours, staunch atheists, mayavadis,

demigod worshippers, fallen devotees who had long since given up

their devotional practices, children, youth, adults and the elderly,

became sincere Vaisnavas or aspiring Vaisnavas. Their priorities of

life, life's conceptions, and their sense of reality and

proprietorship, were all dismantled by Srila Narayana Maharaja's

powerful sastric presentations. These presentations were given

strictly in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Rupa

Gosvami, who themselves are the most expert dismantlers of unreality.

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"Srila Maharaja was training his followers in Vaisnava behavior and

etiquette, as well as moral principles, without which no one can

approach the goal."

 

 

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Srila Maharaja encouraged his followers everywhere to perform

harinama samkirtan and book distribution in crowded streets, and to

invite people to take advantage of the festival. Thus, the holy names

of Krsna, as well as the transcendental knowledge in his books and

the books of Srila Prabhupada, showered on the fortunate people.

 

In all ways Srila Maharaja's tour was reminiscent of the preaching

tours of Paramapujyapada Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja

Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krsna

Consciousness.

 

Previously, Srila Narayana Maharaja's audiences were mostly devotees,

old and new, who had some connection with bhakti. They were without

enthusiasm, however, due to a lack of sadhu-sanga. Every year since

he began his world touring in 1996, Srila Maharaja would tell them

that he had come to the West for three reasons - to take darsana and

dust of the holy places where Srila Swami Maharaja had preached; to

help the devotees who now felt neglected, to water the seeds of

bhakti which Srila Swami Maharaja had planted in their hearts and

which were now dried up due to a lack of pure harikatha and proper

siddhanta; and to continue Srila Swami Maharaja's divine mission.

 

Now, more and more, Srila Maharaja was meeting those who had no

previous connections, and thus his preaching in certain places was

very 'grass-roots.' In Bali he had to convince his audience that just

because something flies or has four legs, it doesn't mean we have to

eat them. An airplane flies and a bed has four legs, but it doesn't

mean we have to eat them.

 

The preaching tour began on December 2, 2000. Srila Maharaja spent

the first six days in Germany, where he explained the deep meaning

and glory of the Sri Guru, as revealed in all eight verses of Srila

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's, Sri Gurvastakam. Elaborating on the

first verse he said: "Radha and Krsna are always playing together in

the groves of beautiful Vrndavana, on the bank of Yamuna. The gopis,

under the guidance of Sri Rupa and Rati Manjari, are very expert in

arranging Their meetings. Without their help They cannot meet. All

the gopis, including my Gurudeva, are very expert in arranging Their

secret meetings. In his siddha-deha, internal form of a sakhi, he/she

can cheat the husbands of the gopis. She is very expert at cheating

others, like Candravali and others who are in the group opposed to

Radharani. She can discover newer and newer ways to cheat them so

that Radha and Krsna can meet. It is for this service that our

Gurudeva is in the form of a gopi. He is most dear to Radha and Krsna

and he has a special leaning towards Radhika. Therefore Krsna likes

him so much. To that Gurudeva I am offering vandana.

 

"You should know the symptoms of Gurudeva - how high he is. A worldly

person, who has lust and is falling down moment by moment, who goes

to cinemas, impersonalist colleges and universities, is not guru.

Boycott them.

 

If somehow you have accepted a guru like this, give up this false

guru at once. Gurus like this have no trust in the holy name, and no

trust in their guru's line."

 

After Germany, Srila Maharaja and his party went to Brazil, San

Diego, and Hawaii, and after that, on January 10th, he went to

Auckland, New Zealand.

 

There he stayed at the home of Sripad Kantilal Punja and his family.

It was Kantilal Prabhu who had organized his preaching in Fiji in

previous years.

 

Each evening Srila Maharaja gave lectures in Hindi at the Bharatiya

Mandira in Aukland. The Deities of this large mandira were Sri Radha-

Krsna, Sri Laxmi- Narayana, Sri Sita-Rama-Hanuman-Laxmana, Siva and

Parvati, Ganesa, and Durga. He patiently, thoroughly, and with

detailed sastric evidence, encouraged his audience of about one

hundred-fifty Indians to engage in one-pointed bhakti to Radha-Krsna.

Night after night he gradually instilled in them that the void and

impersonal conceptions of the Supreme are fallacious, the bodily

conception of life is illusory, demigod worship keeps us in the

endless chain of birth and death, and even worshipping Laxmi-Narayana

does not bring us to the platform of spontaneous pure love.

 

Only Krsna is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the cause of all causes and

all that is. He is the master and all others are servants. We are His

servants, as are the demigods and even Lord Narayana.

 

Srila Maharaja told his audience about the sweet pastimes of Krsna as

a child, especially the lila of His being bound by Mother Yasoda, and

he finally established that even the love of Mother Yasoda, which is

unlimitedly high, is not as complete as that of the gopis. He

established gopi-prema as the goal of life.

 

Everyone was pleased and impressed, and several received initiation

into the Brahma-Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya to begin a new life. Others

collected heaps of sukrtis and sanskaras, spiritual piety and

impressions on the heart, for future success.

 

Srila Maharaja left New Zealand on January 16th and went to Sydney,

Australia, where he held one program, and, on January 18th, he

arrived in Murwillumbah. This year the Murwillumbah festivals were

held near the center of town, in the devotees' newly acquired temple,

Sri Giriraja Gaudiya Matha.

 

During the previous weeks the local devotees had been distributing

invitation flyers and books throughout Murwillumbah and neighboring

cities, and therefore many new people attended. These jiva souls had

been wondering throughout the universes, collecting sukrtis and

samskaras for many births - visiting temples and holy places, serving

devotees, taking krsna-prasadam - and therefore they now had the

opportunity to meet a bona fide representative and resident of the

spiritual world, a sad-guru. So actually Krsna Himself had arranged

the contact.

 

In his evening classes, given at the Steiner School just a few blocks

from the temple, over three hundred devotees and guests heard Srila

Maharaja speak about the ultimate goal of life, vraja-prema or gopi-

prema.. In the evenings his main sastric references were the tenth

Canto Srimad Bahagavatam chapters, Venu-gita and Gopi-gita. In the

mornings he spoke about the means to reach that goal, and at that

time his main reference was Sri Upadesamrta.

 

Srila Maharaja was training his followers in Vaisnava behavior and

etiquette, as well as moral principles, without which no one can

approach the goal. He told a story from the Puranas, of two brothers

in ancient India whose names were Sanka and Likit. Sanka went to

Gurukula at the age of five years, and returned home at twenty-five

years. He did not marry. He lived alone in a bhajana kutira outside

his village. He was a high class devotee and well established in the

behavior and regulations of Vedic culture.

 

One day, his younger brother was visiting his simple but charming

sattvika garden, where there were many lovely flowers. The influence

of this bhajana kutira and garden was such that one would become pure

simply by being there, and all his bad memories would leave. Unable

to check his greed, Likit picked a very fragrant flower and smelled

it. However, due to the garden's purifying influence, the next

morning he became very worried, thinking himself a thief. He had not

asked his brother's permission to pick that flower. He approached

Sanka, offered prostrated obeisances, and wept aloud.

 

He said, "O brother, I did wrong. I'm a thief. Please punish me and

purify me. I will then be qualified to be your brother." Sanka

asked, "What did you do?" After hearing, Sanka put his hand on his

shoulders and said, "That is nothing. I can excuse that. In fact,

there is no need to excuse you." Likit then said, "By not excusing me

I will not be purified."

 

In ancient times the king would immediately cut off the thief's

hands - unlike here in the West or in modern India. After Likit

repeatedly begged Sanka, Sanka cut off both his hands. Although blood

was flowing everywhere, Likit was now happy. He went home and began

to do bhajana. When he visited Sanka later on, he again wanted to

offer his prostrated obeisances, but he had no hands. Again he became

upset. Sanka sprinkled water on him and his hands returned, and the

two brothers heartily embraced.

 

Srila Maharaja said that Lord Ramacandra and Maharaja Yudhisthira

followed these principles, and therefore everyone in their kingdoms

feared doing any wrong. Nowadays we don't fear any reaction. Sri

Caitanya Mahaparbhu therefore ordered Srila Rupa Gosvami to write a

book of Vaisnava rules and regulations - so devotees could purely

chant and remember Krsna and not quarrel. Thus Sri Upadesamrta was

written.

 

During one morning's Upadesamrta class, Srila Maharaja told the

history of a king named Ranjit Singh. The king and his generals were

passing through a forest, and they took rest underneath a mango tree.

Some young boys, desiring to eat the fruits of this tree, began

throwing rocks to make mangoes fall. Unaware of the King's presence,

one of the boys accidentally hit his eye with a rock. Blood flowed

profusely, and he immediately became blind in that eye. Infuriated,

the king's generals begged him for permission to cut the boys into

pieces with their swords. The king refused and said, "Am I less than

this tree? Although the boys are hurting the tree, it is not

retaliating. Rather, it is showing mercy. It is responding by giving

its fruits, flowers, and cooling shade. I should be no less

magnanimous than this tree. Give these boys a portion of my kingdom."

This is an example of ksantir, being peaceful in adverse situations.

 

During the day, in between morning and evening programs, Srila

Maharaja engaged himself in translating Sri Brahma Samhita, along

with the purports of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, into Hindi. His two

assistants, Sripada Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja and Sripada

Pundarika dasa brahmacari, were daily working on editing.

 

As was the case in all cities of Srila Narayana Maharaja's tour,

every evening before class he held informal darsanas for devotees and

guests. In one afternoon darsana a disciple asked, "When a pure

devotee performs harinama sankirtana in the public streets, the whole

universe is purified. But when we neophytes do it, our chanting is

namaparadha. What's the benefit for the people at large? Is there any

benefit at all?" Srila Maharaja replied that the potency is there, in

the order of Sri Gurudeva.

 

The disciple doesn't need his own perfect qualification. His

qualification is that he is faithfully carrying out the order. People

will benefit, the chanting will have its required effect on them, by

that order. And, by that same order, the disciple will also benefit.

 

After darsana, Srila Maharaja left for the Steiner School - to take

part in the singing of Vaisnava bhajanas, to call on devotees to lead

various kirtanas, and to give class. Then, as it happened practically

every evening, just before class he called on his secretary, Sripada

Brajanatha dasa Adhikari, to read the names of devotees who had been

initiated in the morning, so that each new initiate could stand up

and receive the blessings of the Vaisnavas.

 

During his Venu-gita discussions Srila Maharaja glorified the gopis.

The gopis are glorifying the various animate and inanimate residents

of Vraja who allowed no obstacle to interfere with their service to

Krsna, and they pray to take birth in the families of those

residents. "Who are these gopis? They are none other then Krsna

Himself. Krsna has come in two parts, Radha and Krsna, and the gopis

are bodily manifestations of Radhika. These gopis have descended to

this world to show something, so that we can learn from them. We

should follow this high class of associates of Krsna. Be attached

like these gopis. All other attachments should quickly go away.

 

"You know the wife of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami - how beautiful

she was! She was like Miss India - more beautiful than Miss India.

Perhaps, if she would have competed for Miss Universe, she could have

won that title. For Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, however, she was like

dry wood. She could not attract him. Why? He had some attachment for

Krsna. Sri Yadunandana Acarya, and especially Sri Svarupa Damodara,

have given him this attachment. If a guru can give attachment to

Krsna, he is actually guru. You should try to be attached to Krsna in

this way, by the process shown by the gopis, following that process

day and night."

 

January 24th was a very auspicious day for the devotees. It was the

divine appearance day of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami

Maharaja. When he arrived at 7am at the large pandal-like area in

front of the temple, he noticed the large, decorated photos of the

acaryas on the altar. Seeing his own photo also present, he requested

that it be removed. He said that he had come there not to worship

himself, but to worship the disciplic succession.

 

That is the real meaning of Vyasa-puja. During the class he called on

devotees to speak on the topic of guru-tattva, he also spoke on the

subject, and then all the happy devotees performed guru-puja and gave

offerings of puspanjali.

 

That evening, following his regular discussion on Venu-gita, he gave

another discourse on guru-tattva, in which he revealed the meaning of

Vyasa and vyasa-puja. Within a circle there is a center, a

circumference, and unlimited diameters going from one point in the

circumference to another through that center. The center represents

Krsna and everything about Him.

 

The circumference represents the world, the universe, and all the

universes.

 

The diameter is called Vyasa. From the center that diameter is

reaching out in all directions, and in the same way Sri Vyasadeva is

preaching about Krsna throughout the world and all the universes. All

bona fide gurus have full knowledge and realization of all Vedic

literatures and are performing this same service of preaching, and

they are all manifestations of Vyasa.

 

He then explained that our Vyasa-puja worship procedures come from an

ancient literature called Vyasa-puja-paddhati, which was discovered

by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, edited by him to suit our

Gaudiya sampradaya, and further revised by Srila Bhaktivinoda

Thakura. On his appearance day Sri Gurudeva and his disciples

worship: 1) the guru-parampara, 2) the Panca-tattva, 3) Krsna and His

catur-vyuha expansions, 4) Vyasa and his four direct disciples who

were placed by him in charge of the four Vedas, 5) the four Kumaras

and Visvaksena, 6) the four sampradaya acaryas and Sri Sukadeva

Gosvami, and 7) the supremely worshipable Radha-Krsna, Gaura-

Gadadhara, and Sri Guru. This is called Sapta-pancaka.

 

Srila Narayana Maharaja left Murwillumbah on January 26th. On route

to Perth he spent two days in Brisbane, where he gave three

discourses to his audience of one hundred fifty. In Perth, the Sri

Sri Radha-Vinoda-bihari Gaudiya Matha's temple president, Sripada

Banwarilal dasa Adhikari, had been flooding the city for some time

before Srila Maharaja's arrival with invitation flyers and newspaper

ads. The result was that about fifty new guests attended his classes

at the temple, located in the midst of the unique beauty of an

Australian natural bush forest, and tasted the fruit of their

previous lives' knowing or unknowing Krsna consious activities. These

people had samskaras, impressions in their hearts, from previous

births, but in this life they had not heard of Krsna. Their

only 'spiritual' conceptions were hatha-yoga exercises and God being

everything but a person. Now they heard from Srila Maharaja and his

senior disciples about the soul beyond the body. They heard the

strong, logical, Vedic evidence that God is a person, He has

qualities and pastimes, and He has love and affection. Srila Maharaja

asked them retorically, "If God is not a person, how can He be

beautiful, how can He be merciful, how can He smile, and how can He

embrace you?" The guests heard that there is no happiness in this

world, that there is a spiritual world where there is endless

happiness, there is a need for accepting a bona fide guru, and only

by such acceptance could they become happy. Many of the guests

returned for the remaining evenings' programs.

 

Srila Maharaja left Perth on February 10th and flew to Singapore,

where he stayed at the opulent home of Sripad Dau Dayal Gupta and his

family. Sripad Guptaji's mother, quite popular and well loved in

Vraja Mandala as a singer of the sweet pastimes of Radha-Krsna, was

also present. Srila Maharaja requested her to sing bhajanas at all

his programs, and he himself often explained them.

 

On February 11th, along with about one hundred devotees, Srila

Maharaja observed the holy appearance day of his own Gurudeva, the

sannyasa-guru of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, that is,

Nityalila Pravista Sri Srimad Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja.

He said that whenever Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja

used to speak about his diksa-guru, Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddanta

Sarasvati Thakura, he often could not even complete the utterance of

his entire name. As soon as he would say "Pra-", he would weep due to

intense love.

 

Having told the devotees that Sri Guru is none other than a

manifestation of Sri Vyasadeva, Srila Maharaja spent most of the

evening expressing indebtedness to Vyasadeva. He related the history

of his divine birth, his dividing the Vedas into four, his writing of

the Puranas, Mahabharata and ultimately Srimad Bhagavatam, and his

dissemination of the Vedic literatures through the four Sampradaya

acaryas. He related Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's taking the essence of

all these literatures and revealing the sublime truths of acintya-

bhedabheda through vaidhi-bhakti and then raganuga bhakti, and

through this the revelation of His gift to all fortunate jivas - the

unnata-ujjvala-rasa sva-bhakti sriyam, service to Srimati Radhika as

maidservant. Srila Maharaja concluded his glorification by saying

that to have this understanding of the Vedas by amnaya, that which

has been accepted by disciplic succession, is the real observance of

Vyasa-puja.

 

Two days later all the devotees celebrated the appearance day of

Jagad-guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada. After

calling on senior disciples to speak on his glories, Srila Maharaja

explained that Srila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada was the embodiment

of all the words of his pranama mantra, and he explained those words

elaborately - that is, bhakti-siddhanta, varsabhanavidevidayita,

madhurojjvala premadya sri rupanuga bhakti da. Srila Parbhupada came

to give the fallen conditioned souls the qualifications, not only for

raganuga-bhakti, but for rupanuga-bhakti, the qualification to become

the personal maidservant of Srimati Radharani. Srila Maharaja

revealed that in the spiritual world he is Sri Nayana Manjari, a

personification of Sri Radha's eyes' vision of Sri Krsna.

 

On February 17th the preaching tour was completed. At that time Srila

Narayana Maharaja and his associates returned to India, to Calcutta.

There he prepared for the annual Navadwipa Dhama Parikrama, during

which he would be leading over fifteen thousand devotee-pilgrims in

visiting and worshipping Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His sacred

places of pastimes.

 

What can we say of this preaching tour? It would have been better if

we had the time and pages in this publication to write a five hundred

page book.

 

This brief presentation cannot begin to explain it. Please excuse us.