Report on the Disapearance day of HH Tamal Krsna Goswami 15-3-02

[Guest guest]

Dear Devotees

 

PAMHO&AGTSP

 

Mayapur March 15th 2002.

 

I am sorry that I have to give a sad report about HH Tamal Krishna Goswami's

physical disappearance, because since I am sending always reports to

conferences and websites most of the news are good and devotees fell

encouraged in Krsna Consciousness, when I came to know today early in the

morning about the car accident where His Holiness TKG and her grace

Vrndavanesvari dd passed away due to the car accident I couldn't believe it

since yesterday itself I have seen His Holiness in an excellent mode and

enthusiast to go back to finish quickly his PHD, I personally asked HH for a

meeting to record an interview yesterday and He kindly promised me about 30

minutes, but some how it couldn't happen because whenever I use to go to

his room in the conch building the room was full packed with devotees ( God

brothers & God sisters and disciples ) so I felt that I should not disturb

HIM but somehow I felt that I will not have a chance again if I do not do it

( I have some reasons to feel that which I can say later on) I couldn't

accept it easily since we are were expecting to see him again active in the

GBC giving hi experience and guidance because HH has 7 years absent due to

his studies in Cambridge University, but any way we are devotees and we have

to accept the plans that the Lord have for us which are always better than

our personal plans, so Krsna wanted him back and this happened, One curious

thing for me is that when I asked him many days back in the GBC conference

room about when His Holiness is leaving, He told me was March 14th but

somehow His Holiness didn't go due to some problems that he wanted to stay

and help, but in fact was Krishna's plan to have him here in the Gaura

mandala at the moment of leaving His body.

 

The vaishnava community and all the family of ISKCON here in Mayapur and all

over the world is feeling with deep sorrow because the passing away of His

Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami, everybody is under shock and no one wanted

to accept, just imagine his recently initiated disciples, who were almost

all the time crying and lamenting this tragedy, May the Lord bless them to

be always under the protection of their Gurumaharaja and Srila Prabhupada.

All the seminars were suspended for today and tomorrow morning.

 

I came to know the news that early in the morning at 4:15 am as Sacidulal

prabhu ( Disciple and personal assistant of Maharaja while was in Mayapur)

His Holiness left to Calcutta airport and everything was normal but suddenly

after one hour they receive a call that HH had an accident at Phuliya, one

hour from Mayapur which is part of Gaura Mandala (the place were Srila

Haridas Thakura lived in a cave and chanted the holy name 300.000 times a

day) and was in the hospital and also that Vrndavanesvari dd (her birthday

was today )also was in the Anulia Hospital in Ranaghat but than again a call

came and was that HH passed away and devotees didn't want to accept it, so

I had to make like 10 calls with the hope that the news was wrong

information but nothing, everyone was confirming it.

 

 

When all was confirmed we were going from one room to another and disciples

and well wishers of HH TKG were present in HH Bhakti Caru Swami's quarters

chanting and glorifying Maharaja and after that I went to our office (

JPSOffice) and got a call from Dallas that they wanted to talk with HH

Giridhari Swami, this was the disciples of maharaja so sine the line was not

good in HH Bhakti Caru Swami's quarters so I took the handset phone went to

the quarters and found that many Sanyasis were in a meeting discussing what

to do, but finally thanks to this call things were clarified and it was that

HH TKG have written his will and was there in Dallas temple, so the will was

dictated by phone and I had the mercy to write it, and than HG Keshava

Bharati prabhu read it to all the present devotees and was crying many times

since HH Tamal Krsna Goswami mentioned him in his will as his personal

friend along with HH Giriraj Maharaj who is not present at the moment.

 

We spent the morning talking to each other and waiting to hear any news from

the hospital to see when they are coming with the body but everything was

delayed because His Holiness is foreigner and has to be cleared the

authorization from US so he can be buried here in India and it seems

everything went ok, so after 1:30 is when was allowed them to bring them

back, HH TKG and HG Vrndavaneswari dd who passed away on her birthday day

march 15th. Also it is important to mention that today is the disappearance

day of Srila Jagannath das babaji and Rasikanad prabhu, so is it very

auspicious since also it is with in the festival time.

 

At 3:15 pm March 15th the Bus arrived with the bodies of these great

devotees and hundreds were waiting outside the main gate to receive them

with kirtan and everyone was always glorifying the qualities of HH TKG and

HG Vrndavanesvari dd, the procession went up to conch building where there

were rooms prepared to receive them. In the ground floor, coming with them

form the Hospital were HH Jayadwaita maharaja, Srivaram Maharaja, BV Govinda

maharaja, Niranjana Maharaj and Jayapataka Maharaja ( sorry if forget

someone else).HH Tamal Krsna Goswami was bathed with Ganga water by His god

brothers and was given a new set of clothes by our Gurumaharaja HH

Jayapataka Swami and many flowers were covering his body (please see pics in

www.mayapur.info) and only his face was left uncovered, so devotees took him

on bamboo sticks in procession to the temple entering from the courtyard

after taking darsan from Sri Garudadeva. So the body entered on the arms of

the devotees and immediately went to receive darsan from Srila Prabhupada

and than lord Nrishimhadeva and than Sri Panca Tattva Bhagavan and after Sri

Sri Radha Madhava were the transcendental body of Maharaja was kept for

darsan and flower offering from all present devotees until beginning of

sunset, the arati was performed by HG Gaura- Narayan prabhu (authorized to

be Sanyasa this year and senior disciple of HH Tamal Krishna Maharaja) and

after that the procession to Srila Prabhupada Puspa Samadhi started with

kirtans. Inside the Samadhi there were also procession (parikram around

Srila Prabhupada Murti and than went to the place near \by the Srila

Prabhupada Samadhi and Housing area entrance where he will be kept and built

a Samadhi for His Holiness , for this service Keshava Bharati Prabhu and

Giriraj Swami are delegated in His will to take care of this building, the

ceremony had hundreds of devotees and there were Arati Bhoga Offering and

Srila Prabhupada flowers prasada and than was puspanjali and after, they

started placing salt under his body, later it was placed over his body and

than one devotee placed a big yellow flower from the lotus feet of Sri Sri

Radha Madhava over his face and than covered it with clothes and over that

they put salt to complete covering all His body and after that all the

devotees had to refill the place, and now it is there with a tulsi plant

over and big garlands of Sri Sri Radha Madhava. After that the disciples of

Maharaja went to the Ganges to take bath and to be present in the last

moments of Vrndavanesvari's body which was cremated beside the Holy Ganges,

her husband Kalasamvara das (Auckland TP President) was there ( see pics in

the website of him) and offering condolences to him.

 

Devotees in Mayapur will have a special day for HH Tamal Krsna Goswami and

also to her grace Vrndavanesvari dd and glorification and remembrance will

be going on during the morning and devotees will be fasting until noon time.

HH Tamal Krishna Goswami is very dear to Srila Prabhupada and did a lot of

service for ISKCON from all the levels of service, ( academics, preaching,

secretariat, writings etc) He is very well versed in the sastras and was

studying his PHD in Cambridge University about Srila Prabhupada, so we can

see that even in the Academic levels and environments He was always with

Srila Prabhupada and serving him, when I asked him few days back when Your

holiness will finish, He said in 6 months but do not write about this yet as

he was telling me since I had the intention to make a Video recorded

interview to His Holiness but was not possible at that time, Every night we

use to hear that in the room of Maharaj was harinam Kirtans with many senior

devotees and disciples and Keshava Bharati Prabhu told us that maharaja was

in a great mode and very pleased with his visit to Mayapur and that these

kirtans are giving too much spiritual strength to him and that he wanted to

be here more frequently.

 

His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, is one of the most senior

disciples of Srila Prabhupada and was initiated in 1968 and was a GBC member

since long time back, I think HH was the most senior member of the GBC Body

until his departure and preached in a very difficult places like China and

other far eastern countries. HH was the last secretary of His Divine Grace

Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

We pray to the Lord and Srila Prabhupada for protection to all the devotees

around the world.

 

Ys

 

Tusti Mohan Krsna das

 

Please see more than 50 pics about HH Tamal Krishna Goswami and the ceremony

of His disappearance in Mayapur dham in www.mayapur.info, as well we are

sending 5 pics with this article attached.