Srila Bhaktisiddhanta S. & Sri Purusottam Thak. & Gour Govinda Swami

[Guest guest]

Sri Purusottama Das Thakura -- Disappearance

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura -- Appearance

(fast till noon)

Srila Gour Govinda Swami -- Disappearance

 

 

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Back to Godhead article by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhup€da, published in March 1952, Vol. 1, Part IX, entitled, "Paramahansa

Sree Sreemad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj"

 

Oˆ Vishnupada Sree Sreemad Bhakti Siddh€nta Saraswati Goswami appeared in

this mortal world in the year 1874 in February on the 6th as the third son

of ®r…la Bhaktivinode Thakur known as late Kedarnath Dutt in His early

householder life. ®r…la Bhakti Siddh€nta Saraswati was known as Bimala

Prasad Dutt in His early life and from His very boyhood, inspired by His

devotee father, lived a strict pious and religious life. One instance in His

early life will prove how much He was rigid in His principle of religious

way of life. The instance may be cited here as a matter of course. ®r…la

Kedar Nath Dutta as an ideal Grihastha used to worship Sree Sree R€dh€

Govinda Vigraha at his house. As such one day he purchased some good quality

mangoes for the deity when ®r…la Bhakti Siddh€nta Saraswati was a mere

child. The child Bimala Prasad pretending the childish nature ate up the

mangoes without the knowledge of his father. The father when he came to know

that the mangoes purchased for offering to the dieties at his house were

swallowed up by his child Bimala Prasad, he mildly rebuked Him and warned

Him also not to commit the mistake in the future. The child Bimala Prasad

took up this matter very seriously and as the proverb goes that child is the

father of future men, so He proved Himself then as the future Acharya of the

human community. From that day forward till His departure from this mortal

world He remembered that mistake which He had committed in His early life

and as a matter of self imposed punishment, He never touched mangoes of any

kind for His eating purpose. In His later life He was so many times

requested by His thousands and thousands disciples to accept mangoes but He

always reminded of His childish so called mistake and always quoted the

instruction from the Ishopanishad that everything belongs to the Almighty

God. No body therefore accept anything in this world unless the same has

first been offered to Him (Almighty God).

 

Another instance of His early life may be stated here that when Bimala

Prasada was on the lap of his beloved mother His father Late Kedar Nath

Dutta was posted as Magistrate of Pur…. The Car festival of Sree Sree

Jagannathji took place at that time. The house was situated just near the

main road through which the Car used to pass. So when the Car was moving it

stopped all of a sudden in front of the house where ®r… Bimala Prasad was on

the lap of His mother. The Car of Jagannath stopped and did not move with

utmost endeavour of the pulling devotees. The mother of Bimala Prasad took

this opportunity and was helped to get up on the Car for Darshan of the

Deity with her saintly son. The baby Bimala Prasad was then thrown up on the

holy feet of Sree Sree Jagannathji and at once the baby was blessed by the

God as some flowers fell down on the baby from the hands of the Deity. After

this incidence the Car began to move and every intelligent person present

there could understand that the child Bimala Prasad was not an ordinary one.

There are many such small but very significant instances from His very

childhood which indicated Bimala Prasad to be a future great personality and

it so happened that in His later age, He became the most powerful Acharya in

the line of Gau…ya Vaishnava Sampradaya in the desciplic succession from

the Madyacharya who was in the line of Brahm€ Sampradaya coming down Brahm€

the Creator of this Universe. There are four Sattawata or transcendental

spiritual Acharya Sampradayas or fundamental schools of Theism such as the

Brahm€ Sampradaya beginning with Brahm€ after his initiation from the

Personality of Godhead; the Rudra Sampradaya beginning from ®a‰kara or

Mahadeva; the Shree Sampradaya beginning from Sreemati Luxmi Devi the

Eternal Consort of Sree N€r€yaŠa and the Kumar Sampradaya beginning from the

Kumar namely Sanak Sanat Kumars. Sree Madhyacharya belonged to Brahm€

Sampradaya, Sree R€m€nuja to the Sree Sampradaya, Sree Vishnuswami to the

Rudra Sampradaya and Sree Nimb€rka belonged to the Kumar Sampradaya. All

these four Acharyas are bonafide preachers of the pure transcendental

philosophy dealing with the problems of this world, the living entities and

the Almighty God who is the Father of creation as well as the living

entities who are falsely trying to dominate over the creation and the

controlling energy known as the material Nature.

 

Sree Bhakti Siddh€nta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj happened to be the tenth

generation in the line of disciplic succession from Lord Chaitanya who

accepted ®r…la Iswar Pur… as His spiritual Master. ®r…la Madhabendra Pur…

was the spiritual Master of ®r…la Iswar Pur… and He (®r… Madhabendra Pur…)

belonged to be in the disciplic succession from Madhyacharya who was direct

disciple of Sree Vyasdeva. The Spiritual Master of ®r…la Vy€sadeva was ®r…la

N€rada Muni who was directly initiated by Brahm€ the originator of the

Brahm€ Sampradaya and therefore my spiritual Master Sree Sreemad Bhakti

Siddh€nta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj belonged to the transcendental school of

philosophy of the Brahm€ Sampradaya linking Brahm€ to Vy€sadeva; from Him to

Madhyacharya from Madhyacharya to Lord Chaitanya and from Lord Chaitanya to

Himself in a systematic principle as stated in Bhagwat Geeta:

 

Ebam Parampara Praptam etc. [bg. 4.2]

 

As a bonafide Acharya of the Brahm€-Madhya-Gau…ya Sampradaya the mission of

Sree Sreemad Bhakti Siddh€nta Saraswati Goswami was to re-establish the pure

form of theism as propounded by Lord Chaitanya in the line of His

predecessors. Lord Chaitanya preached only the teachings of Bhagwat Geeta in

the most practical way to suit the present environment created by the dark

age of quarrel and fight. In the latter-age calculated to be two hundred

years before the advent of ®r…la Bhakti Siddh€nta Saraswati Goswami Mah€r€ja

many pseudo-spiritualistic parties in the name of Lord Chaitanya grew up

like mushrooms to exploit the noble sentiment of spiritualism of the

innocent people of Earth. Such pseudo spiritualistic parties deviated poles

asunder from the preaching of Lord Chaitanya because they were unfit to

undergo the disciplic regulations and as such they had mitigated a via-media

principle of rotten materialistic idea with pure spiritualism. They

misunderstood the highest form of worship contemplated by the Gopies of

Brindaban in the spiritual process with a materialistic idea of erotic

principle. As such the highest principle Rashl…l€ stated in the Bhagwat to

be understood and relished at the stage of Parahansas was made a plaything

by such pseudo parties are known as the Oul, Baoul, Nera, Karta Bhaja, Sain,

Darbesa, Sakhi-vekhi, Sahajiya, Caste Goswamins, Caste Brahmins and so on.

These pseudo parties passed as the disciples of Lord Chaitanya with their

cheap nefarious activities and of all the above parties the Sahajiyas and

the Caste Gosv€m…ns became the most obstinate-obstructors to the

onward-progress of the universal movement of Lord Chaitanya.

 

The Philosophy of Lord Chaitanya was that God is One without a second. He is

known as Sree Krishna but His incarnations such as R€ma Nrisingha are all

identical with Him. The living entities or J…vas are qualitatively one with

Godhead but quantitatively they are innumerable but eternal servitors of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. The present materialistic activities of the

J…vas are to be understood as the acts of m€y€ or illusion and therefore

they are all waste of energy of the human being. The energy of the human

being as also of other living being should therefore be directed under the

bonafide regulations of the Acharya in the line of Lord Chaitanya and as

such He vehemently protested against the principles of those pseudo

transcendentalists now passed in the name of Lord Chaitanya.

®r…la Thakur Bhaktivinode initiated the reformatory movement by literary

contributions while he was still engaged as a high Government Officer.

During his householder life and serving as a Magistrate he wrote books of

various descriptions in Bengali, English, Sanskrit & etc. to present an

actual picture of pure devotional activities of Lord Chaitanya. ®r…la Bhakti

Siddh€nta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj got inspiration from his very Childhood

all about ®r…la Thakur Bhaktivinode's movement. As a matter of fact out of

all his other son's ®r…la Saraswati Thakur practically worked as the private

secretary of ®r…la Bhaktivinode Thakur as such Bhaktivinode Thakur gave Him

(®r…la Saraswati Thakur) the transcendental Power of Attorney to espouse the

cause of Lord Chaitanya and so after ®r…la Bhaktivinode Thakur's

departure®r…la Saraswati Thakur took up reins of that reformatory movement.

The first and foremost task of ®r…la Saraswati Thakur was to excavate the

holy birth-place of Lord Chaitanya at Sreedham M€y€pur in the district of

Nadia in West Bengal. To substantiate this preliminary act of His great

future movement ®r…la Saraswati Thakur had to face tremendous difficulties

offered by the caste goswamins at Nabadwip-because they apprehended a lawyer

in the initial movement. The caste goswamins were exploiting and still are

exploiting the religious sentiments of the common people in the name of Lord

Chaitanya and presented themselves as so called relative and descendants of

Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nity€nanda. Factually Lord Chaitanya or for the

matter of that Lord Nity€nanda accepted nobody as their relative or kinsmen

who were not devotee of the Lord. On the contrary Lord Chaitanya accepted

Thakur Haridas, who happened to come out of a Mohammedan family, as the

Namacharya or the most powerful authority for preaching the samkirtan

movement which Lord Chaitanya inaugurated so arduously.

 

Lord Chaitanya, as it is stated in the Bhagwat Geeta or in other authentic

scriptures, wanted to re-establish the Vaishnava Dharma on the real basis of

spiritualism. He never deprecated the natural caste system but neither He

approved of the birth-right caste system, which has degenerated into slut of

anachronism. Lord Chaitanya opined that anyone who is well conversant with

the philosophy of the Absolute Truth Shree Krishna, never mind what he is

either a born Brahmin or Sudra or in the Ashram of a Sanyasi or Grihastha is

perfectly competent to act in the role of Spiritual Master. And He

practically demonstrated this fact during His preaching work.

 

The caste gosv€m…ns assisted by the other pseudo-transcendentalists made a

clique to check up the universal movement of Lord Chaitanya and made a

business of despatching those foolish followers to the kingdom heaven after

having drawing a lumpsum amount for this priestcraft hooliganism.

Sree Sreemad Bhakti Siddh€nta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj wanted to check up

this pseudo-spiritualistic activities of the so called followers of Lord

Chaitanya and present the actual thing for acceptance by the general public

religionists and modern philosophers for a critical study of the sublime

gift of Lord Chaitanya. It is the honest belief of ®r…la Saraswati Thakur

that people in general, modern philosophers and thinkers as also the

religionists will be struck with wonder when they seriously make a study of

the gift of Lord Chaitanya.

 

What was thought by modern leaders like Gandhi and Rabindranath was long

before thought by Lord Chaitanya not as a public leader of political

aspiration but as the Father of all living entities. The movement of Lord

Chaitanya is generally known as the Samkirtan movement which is a

transcendental process of self-realisation by removing the dust of

materialism on the mirror of human intelligence. The present problem

confronting the human civilization is due to lack of a proper introspection

of the goal of human knowledge.

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My Lord and Master, His Divine Grace.

 

Poem written by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada On

Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur's Vyasa puja.

 

>From Srila Prabhupada's Lilamrita by HH Satsvarupa das Goswami

 

 

 

February 25, 1935

 

 

 

It was the sixty-second birthday of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. At

Jaganndtha Puri, where Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was residing, the

devotees observed the day with ceremony. At the small Bombay center, the few

disciples planned an evening observance and invited local people. For the

occasion, Abhay wrote a poem.

 

 

 

Adore adore ye all the happy day,

 

Blessed than heaven, Sweeter than May,

 

When he appeared at Puri, the holy place,

 

My Lord and Master, His Divine Grace.

 

 

 

Oh! my Master, the evangelic angel,

 

Give us Thy light, light up the candle.

 

Struggle for existence a human race

 

The only hope, His Divine Grace.

 

 

 

Misled we are all going astray,

 

Save us Lord, our fervent pray,

 

Wonder Thy ways to turn our face.

 

Adore Thy feet, Your Divine Grace.

 

 

 

Forgotten Krishna, we fallen souls,

 

Paying most heavy, the illusion's toll.

 

Darkness around all untrace,

 

The only hope, His Divine Grace.

 

 

 

Message of service thou hast brought.

 

A healthful life as Chaitanya wrought,

 

Unknown to all, it's full of brace,

 

That's your gift, Your Divine Grace.

 

 

 

Absolute is sentient thou hast proved,

 

Impersonal calamity thou hast moved.

 

This gives us a life - Anew and fresh.

 

Worship Thy feet, Your Divine Grace.

 

 

 

Had you not come, Who had told

 

The message of Krishna, forceful and bold,

 

That's your right, you have the mace.

 

Save me a fallen, Your Divine Grace.

 

 

 

The line of service as drawn by you

 

Is pleasing and healthy like morning dew.

 

The oldest of all but in new dress.

 

Miracle done, Your Divine Grace.

 

 

 

Abhay Charan Das

 

 

 

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The Upadesavali Of Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada

 

"Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam–supreme victory to the congregational

chanting of Krsna’s names" - this is Sri Gaudiya Math’s sole object of

worship.

 

 

 

Sri Krsna, who is the visaya-vigraha or the object of the devotee’s prema,

is the sole enjoyer, and all others are to be enjoyed by Him.

 

 

Those who don't perform Hari-bhajana are ignorant and murderers of their own

soul.

 

 

The acceptance of Harinama and direct realization of Bhagavan are one and

the same.

 

 

Those who equate the demigods with Visnu are unable to serve Bhagavan.

 

 

Establishing a printing press to print devotional books and preaching by

organizing Nama Hatta programs constitutes genuine service to Sri Mayapur.

 

 

We are not doers of good or bad deeds, nor are we scholars or illiterate.

Carrying the shoes of Hari's pure devotees as our duty, we are initiates

into the mantra "kirtaniya sada hari".

 

 

Preaching without following proper conduct falls within the category of

karma, mundane activity. Without criticizing the nature of other, one should

correct one's self - this is my personal instruction.

 

 

Serving the Vrajavasis who felt great separation from Krsna when He left

Vraja to reside in Mathura is our supreme constitutional occupation.

 

 

If we desire to follow an auspicious course in life, then disregarding the

theories of even countless people we should hear instructions only from a

transcendental source.

 

 

Life as an animal, bird, insect, or any other of the countless thousands of

species is acceptable, but taking shelter of deceit is thoroughly improper.

Only an honest person possesses real auspiciousness.

 

 

Simple heartedness is synonymous with Vaisnavism. Servants of paramahamsa

Vaisnava should be simple-hearted, a quality which makes them the topmost

brahmanas.

 

 

Helping to draw conditioned souls away from their perverted attachment to

this material energy is the greatest compassion. If even one soul is rescued

from maha-maya's fortress, that compassionate act is infinitely more

benevolent than the construction of unlimited hospitals.

 

 

We have not come to this world to be construction workers; we are the

bearers of Sri Caitanyadeva's instructions.

 

 

We will not remain in this world for long, and by profusely performing

Hari-kirtan, upon relinquishing these material bodies we will experience the

ultimate reward of embodied life.

 

 

The foot-dust of Sri Rupa Goswami, the fulfiller of Sri Caitanyadeva's inner

desires is our life's sole desired object.

 

 

If I were to desist from lecturing about the Absolute Truth due to being

fearful that some listeners may be displeased, I would be deviating from the

path of Vedic truth and accepting the path of untruth. I would become one

who is inimical to the Vedas, an atheist, and would no longer possess faith

in Bhagavan, the very embodiment of Truth.

 

 

Krsna's darsan can only be attained through the medium of the ear as one

hears Hari-katha from pure Vaisnavas; there is no other way.

 

 

Wherever Hari-katha is being spoken is a holy place.

 

 

Proper sravana, hearing, is accomplished through the medium of kirtan, and

this will give one the good opportunity to practice smarana, remembrance.

Then internal experience of rendering direct service to the astakaliya-lila,

Sri Radha-Krsna's pastimes in each of the eight parts of the day, becomes

possible.

 

 

We should understand that the loud calling out of Krsna's names is bhakti.

 

 

Bhagavan will not accept anything, that is offered by a person who doesn't

chant Harinam one-hundred thousand times daily (1 lakh of names).

 

 

By sincerely endeavoring to chant Harinam without offences and remaining

fixed in chanting constantly, one's offences will fade and pure Harinam will

arise on the tongue.

 

 

As mundane thoughts arise while taking Harinam, one should not become

discouraged. A secondary consequence of taking Harinam is that these useless

mundane thoughts will gradually dissipate; therefore one should not worry

about this. By dedicating one's mind, body, and words to serving Sri Nama

and continuing to chant with great persistence, Sri Nama Prabhu will grant

one darsan of His supremely auspicious transcendental form. And by

continuing to chant until one's anarthas are fully eradicated by the power

of Sri Nama realization of His form, qualities and pastimes will

automatically arise.

 

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SRI PURUSOTTAMA THAKURA

 

"The twenty-third and twenty-fourth prominent devotees of Nityananda Prabhu

were Sadasiva Kaviraja and his son Purusottama dasa, who was the tenth

gopala. Since birth, Purusottama dasa was merged in the service of the lotus

feet of Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and he was always engaged in childish play

with Lord Krsna." [C.C. Adi 11.8-39]

 

"Sri Sadasiva Kaviraja was extremely fortunate. His son's name was Sri

Purusottama das. He was never externally conscious of his material body.

Nityananda Candra enacted many pastimes from within his heart." [C.B. Antya

5/741-742]

 

Sri Purusottama Thakura had three main disciples: Sri Madhavacarya, Sri

Yadavacarya and Devakinandana dasa, who were born in Kulina brahmana

families. Madhavacarya married Nityananda Prabhu's daughter, Ganga-devi.

Devakinandana was the author of the book Vaishnav-vandane. Purusottama

Thakura's Sripat was previously at Sukhasagar. Now his Deities are at

Candriya Gram.

 

This temple is called Vasu-Jahnava Pat. Perhaps this is due to the fact that

Kanai Thakura, the son of Purusottama, was the adopted son of Sri Jahnava.

 

Sri Purusottama Thakura was the cowherd boy Stoka-krsna in Krisna-lila.

 

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A Brief Life Sketch Of Srila Gour Govinda Swami

 

His Divine Grace Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja made his appearance as

Braja-bandhu Manik in a vaishnava family on 2nd September 1929. He appeared

in the village of Jagannathapura, not far from Jagannatha Puri Dhama, in

Orissa, India, but as his mother was descended from the Giri family of the

village Gadeigiri, Braja-bandhu spent his childhood there. His grandfather

was a paramahamsa whose only business was to chant Hare Krishna and cry

before the local Deity of Krishna known as Gopal Jiu. He taught Braja-bandhu

how to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra by counting on his fingers. In the

company of his uncles, Braja-bandhu would travel from village to village

chanting Hare Krishna and singing the songs of Narottama Dasa Thakura. The

Giri family have been known since the time of Syamananda Prabhu as famous

kirtana performers in Orissa. Three hundred years ago, in the temple

registers of Jagannatha Puri, the king of Orissa wrote that the kirtana

party of Gadeigiri should come to perform kirtana for Lord Jagannatha

whenever possible. In Orissa they are seen as kirtana-gurus.

 

>From the age of six, Braja-bandhu worshiped the Deity of Gopal by making

garlands, and sometimes, under the light of a candle, by singing hymns for

Him from palm-leaf manuscripts. He would never take any food that was not

offered to Gopal.

 

By the age of eight he had read the entire Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam

and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and could also explain their meaning. At night

many villagers would come to hear his recitation of the Bhagavata, Ramayana

and Mahabharata. Thus from the very beginning of his life he was absorbed in

chanting Krishna's holy name, studying vaishnava literature, and worshipping

his beloved Gopal. Friends and relatives remember him as always being very

quiet and introspective. He was never interested in playing with other boys

or in going to see cinema shows or theatre.

 

After the death of his father in 1955, as the eldest son he became

responsible for maintaining the family, and on the request of his widowed

mother he entered the grhastha-asrama. He first met his wife, Srimati

Vasanti Devi, during their marriage ceremony. Because of financial

constraints he could not enroll formally in University courses, but he

studied privately at night to attend the examinations, obtaining a B.A.

degree from Utkal University with overall second highest marks on the exam.

He later also obtained a B.Ed. degree in a similar way and took up the

profession of a school teacher. Despite many responsibilities, however, his

devotion to Gopal never slackened. He would daily rise at 3.30 A.M., chant

the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, worship tulasi-devi, and speak to his family

from the Bhagavad-gita. In school he would take every opportunity to speak

to his students about Krishna and devotional principles. Some of his

students would become his disciples thirty years later.

During school breaks he would take his wife and travel to the Himalayan

mountains, visiting different tirthas and asramas, and he would sometimes

engage in philosophical debates with the mayavadis he found there.

 

On 8 April 1974, at the age of forty-five, Braja-bandhu left his home and

relatives in search of spiritual perfection. Giving himself the name

"Gour-Gopalananda Dasa" and carrying only a Bhagavad-gita and a begging

bowl, he wandered around India, visiting many sacred places along the banks

of the Ganges River. He was looking for his spiritual master, that person

who could help him develop an understanding of the maha-mantra. Although he

had met many sadhus and gurus during his householder days-Orissa has many

prominent sects of gaudiya-vaishnavas-he had not found any whose teachings

sufficiently touched his heart. Still not finding his spiritual master after

wandering in this way for one year, he eventually reached Vrindavana,

thinking that his desire would certainly be fulfilled in Krishna's dear

abode.

 

Two weeks after arriving in Vrindavana he saw a huge signboard which read,

"International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Founder-acarya His Divine

Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada," and he met a group of western

devotees who gave him a copy of Back to Godhead magazine. When he read the

contents describing the glory of divine love for Krishna, his heart became

anxious to meet the magazine's editor and the founder of the movement, Srila

Prabhupada. Gaining entrance to Srila Prabhupada's room, he introduced

himself and the first question Srila Prabhupada asked was, "Have you taken

sannyasa?" Gour-Gopalananda replied that he had not. "Then I will give you

sannyasa!" exclaimed Srila Prabhupada. Understanding that Srila Prabhupada

knew his heart, he surrendered himself at his lotus feet and soon became

Prabhupada's initiated disciple.

 

In 1975, at the opening of ISKCON's Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama Mandira in

Vrindavana, Srila Prabhupada awarded him the sannyasa order, sending him to

preach in Orissa and to construct a temple on the newly donated property in

Bhubaneswar.

The donated land was a jungle full of mosquitoes, snakes and scorpions. It

was so far from the city center that even during the daytime people were

afraid to visit. Meditating on the desire of Srila Prabhupada, Gour Govinda

Swami worked with unwavering determination. Sometimes residing in the

storeroom of a tea dealer and even sometimes sharing a small hut with road

construction workers, he began translating Srila Prabhupada's books into

Oriya as he had been instructed. He would visit house after house, office

after office, in and around Bhubaneswar to collect some small donations, and

he constructed with his own hands a thatched hut on the donated property.

 

In early 1977 Srila Prabhupada came to Bhubaneswar. Although the arrangement

had been made for him to stay comfortably in the State Guesthouse, Srila

Prabhupada at once rejected this proposal, "I will only stay where my

disciple child Gour Govinda has built a mud hut for me." Srila Prabhupada

stayed in Bhubaneswar for seventeen days, during which time he started

translation work on the tenth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. On the auspicious

occasion of Lord Nityananda's appearance day he laid the foundation stone of

the temple-to-be, his last-founded project.

 

During a visit to Mayapura in 1979, Gour Govinda Swami was attending kirtana

one day when he fell to the ground unconscious. He was carried back to his

room followed by several ISKCON leaders and other concerned devotees.

Doctors came to examine him but were unable to diagnose the cause of his

condition. One person even suggested that he may have been possessed by a

ghost. Finally, Aki?cana Krishnadasa Babaji Maharaja, a godbrother of Srila

Prabhupada, explained that Gour Govinda Swami was manifesting the symptoms

of bhava, the advanced stage of ecstatic love of God.

When he returned to Bhubaneswar he became even more absorbed in the mission

of his spiritual master. Some western devotees had been sent there to assist

him, but most of them could not tolerate the austere conditions. They were

amazed to see how he was never disturbed, how he would eat only once a day,

and how he would never sleep. He would simply preach, chant, and write in

his notebooks both day and night.

Following Srila Prabhupada's order, Gour Govinda Maharaja preached

vigorously all over the land of Orissa. The simple pada-yatra festivals and

nama-hatta programs that he started, have helped hundreds and thousands of

people in the ancient land of Lord Caitanya's pastimes, discover their

spiritual roots and take up the chanting of the maha-mantra:

 

hare Krishna hare Krishna Krishna Krishna hare hare

hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

 

Srila Prabhupada gave Gour Govinda Swami three principal instructions: to

translate his books from English into Oriya, to build the temple in

Bhubaneswar, and to preach all over the world. Carrying out these

instructions was Gour Govinda Swami's life and soul. He had a strict policy

of not eating until he had completed his quota of translation for the day.

Devotees would be struck to see how even after undergoing long international

flights Gour Govinda Swami would always insist upon first doing the

translation work given him by his spiritual master before he would eat or

sleep. This was a practice he maintained up to his very last day.

 

In 1985 Srila Gour Govinda Swami first travelled overseas for preaching. He

had so much enthusiasm for speaking Krishna-katha that he continued this

every year for the following eleven years, despite a crippling leg injury

and great personal inconvenience.

Although he was always very meek and humble in his personal dealings, in his

classes on Srimad-Bhagavatam he would roar like a lion, smashing the pride

and cutting the misconceptions from the hearts of his listeners.

Krishna-katha was his life and soul. He would often say, "The day that goes

by without Krishna-katha, that is a very bad day." In the course of his

lecturing he would inevitably burst into song, nourishing everyone with the

devotional sentiments of joy, humility and surrender as expressed in the

prayers of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and other acaryas.

Gour Govinda Swami's knowledge of scripture was formidable. He would

substantiate everything he said with evidence from all over the Vedic

literature. Sometimes he would question a disciple and if the disciple could

not answer with reference to the scriptures he would immediately exclaim,

"He is a cheater! Don't be a crooked person. A vaishnava quotes authority."

In this way Gour Govinda Swami always preached fearlessly, never

compromising the conclusions of the scripture in the name of being

practical. "One who cannot see Krishna," he would say, "is a blind man. He

may speak about Krishna, but in his mind he is speculating. Therefore his

words will never be effective. A real sadhu never speaks theoretically."

 

Gour Govinda Maharaja always kept a diary, making daily entries without

fail. Each entry would conclude in the same way: "Whatever service this

servant has performed today, Gopal knows." Every day he would pray to Gopal

in his diary, "Please give me the association of like-minded devotees."

 

In 1991, on Rama Navami, the auspicious appearance day of Lord Ramacandra,

after sixteen years of determined endeavour, Gour Govinda Maharaja fulfilled

the instruction of his beloved spiritual master Srila Prabhupada by opening

the magnificent Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama temple in Bhubaneswar. Since that

time the Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Mandira has grown into a flourishing

project that every year attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.

 

He never gave up his simple lifestyle. Until his last days he continued to

live in the small mud hut next to the one he had built for Srila Prabhupada

in 1977. Several times he was requested by devotees to expand his managerial

responsibilities, but he always refused, saying, "I am not a manager, I am a

preacher." However, when the land in Gadeigiri, where he spent his childhood

and where his beloved Gopal resided in a simple structure, was donated to

ISKCON, he did take up the responsibility of one more project, that of

building Gopal a magnificent temple.

Gour Govinda Swami said, "I have opened a 'crying school' here in

Bhubaneswar. Unless we cry for Krishna, we cannot get His mercy." This was

the message he preached so vigorously all over the world during the last ten

years of his manifest pastimes.

 

In late January, 1996, he mentioned, "Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said that this

material world is not a fit place for any gentleman. Therefore, because he

was disgusted, he left this world prematurely. I may also leave. I don't

know. Let me ask Gopal. I will do whatever He wants." The next day Gour

Govinda Swami went to Gadeigiri to see his Gopal. After returning, for the

next four days he preached more powerfully than ever to thousands of people

who flocked to the Prabhupada Centennial festival in Bhubaneswar. Then he

left for the annual ISKCON management meetings in Sridhama Mayapura.

 

On 9 February 1996, the holy appearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Thakura, two senior ISKCON devotees requested an appointment in

the early evening to see Gour Govinda Maharaja. They had never spoken

personally with him before but had become very eager to hear from him after

reading some of his books. They inquired, "Why did Caitanya Mahaprabhu stay

in Jagannatha Puri?" Delighted by their question, he began to explain the

confidential significance of Mahaprabhu's pastimes in Puri. He lovingly

described the pain of separation felt by Radha and Krishna when Krishna was

away from Vrindavana. This moving pastime appears in chapter eight of The

Embankment of Separation. Enchanting all the devotees in his room with the

nectarean topics of Krishna, he gradually unfolded the pastime to the point

where Radha and Krishna were finally united after Their long separation. He

described how Krishna became so ecstatic upon seeing Radharani that He

manifested a form with big round eyes and shrunken limbs, Lord Jagannatha.

At that time the devotees noticed that tears had come to his eyes and his

voice had become choked up. Barely audibly, he said, "Then the eyes of

Krishna fell upon the eyes of Radharani. Eye-to-eye union." Unable to

continue, he apologised with folded hands, "Please excuse me. I cannot

speak." He then gave his final instruction: "Kirtana! Kirtana!" The devotees

present began to chant as their spiritual master calmly lay back on his bed,

breathing slowly and deeply. A servant placed a picture of Gopal Jiu in his

hand. Then, gazing lovingly at that picture of his worshipable Deity, Gour

Govinda Swami called out, "Gopal!" and departed for the spiritual sky to be

united with his beloved Lord.

 

Every day before Srimad-Bhagavatam class, Gour Govinda Swami would sing an

Orissan song he had learned as a boy. Now his prayer was fulfilled:

 

paramananda he madhava

padungaluci makaranda

se-makaranda pana-kari

anande bolo 'hari hari'

 

harinka name vanda vela

pari karibe caka-dola

se-caka-dolanka-payare

mana-mo rahu nirantare

 

mana mo nirantare rahu

'ha-Krishna' boli jiva jau

ha-Krishna boli jau jiva

mote udhara radha-dhava

mote udhara radha-dhava

mote udhara radha-dhava

 

"O supremely blissful Madhava! The nectar is coming from Your lotus feet.

Drinking that nectar, I blissfully sing 'Hari! Hari!' Taking the name of

Hari, I am binding a raft on which Lord Jagannatha will ferry me across this

ocean of material existence. May my mind always remain at the lotus feet of

that Lord Jagannatha who has very large round eyes. In this way, I call out,

'Alas! Krishna!' and give up my life. O husband of Radharani, please deliver

me."