Guru-nistha

[Guest guest]

> Tamala Krsna Maharaja immediately answered, looking at him straight in the

> eyes, “I’m not praying to Sita and Rama. I’m praying to the weapons of

> Rama.”

>

> Narayana Maharaja was amazed to hear this, and he later commented, “At

> that moment, I learned from Tamala Krsna Maharaja the meaning of

> guru-nistha.”

>

> MDd

 

YOU HAVE TO give me a little tika here. I don't get the punch line. where

did he get the inspiration to pray to the weapons? why pray to the weapons?

how is this praying to the weapons guru nistha?

totally unclear to me.

 

TridaNDi BhikSu, Bhakti Visrambha MAdhava

[Guest guest]

Dandavats, maharaja. Jaya Srila Prabhupada.

 

On Thu, 2 Mar 2006, Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami wrote:

>> Tamala Krsna Maharaja immediately answered, looking at him straight in the

>> eyes, “I’m not praying to Sita and Rama. I’m praying to the weapons

>> of Rama.â€

>> Narayana Maharaja was amazed to hear this, and he later commented, “At

>> that moment, I learned from Tamala Krsna Maharaja the meaning of

>> guru-nistha.â€

>

> YOU HAVE TO give me a little tika here. I don't get the punch line. where

> did he get the inspiration to pray to the weapons? why pray to the weapons?

> how is this praying to the weapons guru nistha?

> totally unclear to me.

 

 

The implication is that H.H. Tamal Krishna Goswami was praying for victory in a

court case that could have potentially harmed much of ISKCON, the mission of his

spiritual master. In Prabhupada's physical absence TKG was one those most

responsible for its welfare; Srila Prabhupada said the GBC were the watchdogs of

his movement. Evidently, H.H. Narayana Maharaja saw in TKG's praying the kind of

unshakeable determination that very much characterized TKG's devotion to Srila

Prabhupada in general. Why he was praying specifically to the weapons of Rama

only TKG could say, but it clearly seems to have been some sort of chivalrous

bhava in dasya guru-bhakti, which Narayana Maharaja must have appreciated very

much.

 

On hearing this story, one of his disciples recently told me that it was only

after this incident that Narayana Maharaja felt so strongly compelled to give

whatever siksa he could to Srila Prabhupada's followers. It made a very strong

impression on him that Prabhupada's followers had such guru-nistha, more even

than he saw anywhere in the Gaudiya Matha, Narayana Maharaja said.

 

 

A similar incident occurred with Srila B.R. Sridhara Maharaja, years before, and

again involved Tamala Krsna Gosvami. Along with Srila Prabhupada, several ISKCON

devotees were gathered at a function held in the Gaudiya Matha. These devotees

were also asked to speak something on that occasion, and Srila Prabhupada

specifically asked Sridhara Maharaja to make sure he listened attentively when

TKG spoke. Shortly thereafter Tamala Krishna Goswami spoke on the topic of

guru-nistha, in the general spirit of Bhagavatam, 7.5.32:

 

"Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a

Vaiñëava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much

inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the

Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kåñëa

conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one

be freed from material contamination."

 

Sridhara Maharaja was pleased by this, and so was Srila Prabhupada, who at that

time commented to his godbrothers something to the effect that this disciple had

so fully, and practically, assimilated the essence of our sampradaya-siddhanta,

guru-nistha bhakti.

 

 

MDd