Remembering Tamal Krsna Goswami

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REMEMBERING TAMAL KRSNA GOSWAMI

by Swami B.V. Tripurari

 

 

 

 

I first met Tamal Krsna Goswami in Gauda Mandala Bhumi, the circle of

Gaudadesa in which the lila of Sri Gaurasundara is eternally performed. The

last time I saw him he was was also in Gaudadesa, and today I have learned

that he passed from this world in that same Gauda Mandala Bhumi.

 

I knew him for 28 years, and I served Srila Prabhupada and Mahaprabhu

shoulder to shoulder with him from the spring of 1975 to the summer of 1977

and then again from the summer of 1978 until sometime in 1980. He is not a

person one can easily forget.

 

I consider him an eternal servant of Srila Prabhupada. His service to His

Divine Grace is woven into every stitch of the fabric of ISKCON. I know of

no area of service that he was not only involved in but moreover took

responsibility for in some capacity at one time or another.

 

Today he has left many friends and loved ones behind. Their burden is heavy,

for he has left much for them to carry in his absence, much that he was

carrying for them and would expect them to take up in his absence. For them,

this day is long and dark in his shadow. Let them find light in realizing

the measure of his stature as they stand now in his silhouette. His

unexpected departure should make us more aware of what is expected of all of

us, and what the stakes are. Live every moment of your life in

krsnanusilanam--Krsna consciousness. Only then will you enter the eternal

circle of Gaura lila, Sri Gauda Mandala Bhumi--dhama cintamani. Only there

and in its inner circle of Vraja lila will you again find Tamal Krsna

Goswami, serving at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada.

 

The conditions under which Tamal Krsna Goswami passed were uncommon. He left

the world while traveling through Santipura on his way to maya's kingdom.

Once our Gurudeva, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wrote to

Pujyapada B.R. Sridhara Deva Goswami asking his advice about departing from

the world. In consideration of his age and health he asked Srila Sridhara

Maharaja if he should return to Vindavana, or leave the world in the

preaching field. True to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Srila

Sridhara Maharaja favored the preaching field.

 

One's life determines one's destination at death, for what one does though

out his life determines what will be on his mind at the time of death. I can

assure you, Tamal Krsna Goswami was absorbed in thoughts of Krsna and Krsna

sankirtana, and it should be underscored that he left the world in Gauda

Mandala Bhumi, from which there is no return to the world of birth and

death.

 

Was his an untimely departure? I think not. God's ways are mysterious. Tamal

Krsna Goswami should be remembered particularly for his preoccupation in the

latter part of his life. Those who know him know that these were his softest

days. His heart pinned for comradery among Vaisnavas, especially those

influenced by Srila Prabhupada. As we are moved in unison to think of Tamal

Krsna Goswami now perhaps more than ever before, we should think of this:

the need for generous dealings amongst one another. This is the need of the

hour. May the unexpected departure from our midst of Sripada Tamal Krsna

Goswami propel us once and forever in this direction, down the straight and

narrow yet all accommodating road to Gauda Mandala Bhumi, the land of the

all generous lila of Lord Gauranga.