Srila BB Tirtha Gosvami Maharaj: San Francisco

July 10, 2003

20 August 2002 - HDG Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvami Maharaj has just finished his Bay Area preaching tour. As of this writing, he is in Eugene, Oregon, soon to depart for Boston, Massachusetts. All of us who were fortunate enough to have gotten the opportunity to associate with Srila Guru Maharaj are still floating in bliss.

Srila Gurudev arrived on Thursday night at Oakland airport. On Friday, there was an ecstatic program in San Rafael. On Saturday 10 August, the day before San Francisco Rathayatra. Srila Guru Maharaj was invited by Sripad Swami B.V. Tripurari to Audarya, his beautiful monastery in the California Redwoods. Other invitees included members of several Gaudiya Vaishnava branches, including ISKCON's Jayadwaita Swami, Radhanatha Swami and Malatidevi, and Narasingha Caitanya Math's B.B. Visnu Maharaja and B.V. Damodar Maharaj, a sannyasa disciple of Swami Tripurari Maharaj. Around eighty devotees attended the program, which culminated in ISKCON's San Francisco (New Jagannatha Puri) Ratha Yatra.

Srila Guru Maharaj reached Audarya at 12 PM. After the talk of Srila Gurudev in afternoon, Ananta Ram das brahmacari and Bhuta-bhavana Prabhu engaged the devotees in hours of beautiful bhajan. In the evening program, Radhanatha Swami narrated the entire Rathayatra-lila of Mahaprabhu in mellifluous detail, and Srila B.B. Tirtha Maharaja explained how the Vrajavasis entered the yajna (sacrifice) at Kuruksetra during the solar eclipse on the occasion of the original Rathayatra in Krsna-lila, recounting the sweet explanation found in Orissan texts. At the end of the program, Srila Guru Maharaja himself led an ecstatic kirtan. Everyone was filled with bliss by the powerful kirtan of Srila Gurudev.

Early Sunday morning, 11 August, everyone proceeded to New Jagannatha Puri. Srila Tirtha Maharaja and Swami Tripurari were asked to sweep the street for Lord Jagannatha and the procession began with Agnideva Prabhu's leading the kirtan for Jagannatha Swami, who eagerly rushed to meet the devotees of Vraja-dhama, who had been intensely suffering the pangs of love in separation for many years. Srila Guru Maharaj walked in front of Lord Jagannath's cart. After the procession, devotees placed the Srila Guru Maharaj's seat in the middle of the festival site. Devotees from all directions surrounded Srila Guru Maharaj. There was a continuous flow of devotees coming to Srila Guru Maharaj asking several questions, taking his blessings and requesting him to sign his books.

On Monday 12 August, the program was held in San Rafael with Sripad Radhanath Swami, who spoke at length on the sankirtan pastimes of Lord Gauranga in Navadwipa. After this, Srila Gurudev started his talk by summarizing the sankirtan pastimes of Lord Gaurangau. Later Srila Gurudev covered different aspects of bhakti yoga. He spoke about sin. "If you harm any living entity, it is a sin. One has to give respect to every living entity". Srila Gurudev narrated the story of Ajamil. He mentioned that one should not consider these stories a mythology or myth-they are real. Ajamil chanted the Lord's name without any offense. Although he was calling the name of his son, due to its being holy in nature and without envy to Lord, it is referred as namabhas. Ajamil committed innumerable sins, but he never committed offenses to Vishnu and Vaishnavas. Millions of sins can by destroyed by namabhas.

"The whole world is burning from false ego. Different false egos are struggling. All are claiming false proprietorship of material nature, my body, my property, etc. As long as one has material ego, one cannot have devotion. Any kind of material ego should not be there." Srila Gurudev then spoke about the personal aspect of Supreme Lord, "Nothing cannot be the cause of something. Something is the cause of something. When the particle of cause is a person, the Ultimate Cause must also be a Person."

At the end of his talk, Srila Gurudev spoke a few words about Srila Vamsi das Babaji Maharaj, as it was his disappearance day. Srila Gurudev's concluding words were quoted from the teachings of Vamsi das---"'Weep for Krishna from the core of your heart!' Pray to get the grace of Vaishnava!"

The program ended with Srila Gurudeva leading the kirtan. Everybody was so much involved in the ecstatic kirtan of a suddha bhakta that they lost track of time. Everybody wished that it would never end.

On 13 August, Srila Guru Maharaj was invited by ISKCON in San Jose to give a talk. The temple hall was full with devotees. By seeing the name of the place to be 'Bhakti Yoga Centre', Srila Guru Maharaj asked, "What benefit will we get by performing bhakti yoga?" During the talk, everybody became filled with infinite spiritual bliss when Srila Guru Maharaj started the wonderful description of Damodar-lila. He explained the significance of the rope being two inches short: one inch was filled by the continuous efforts or Mother Yasoda and other by the grace of Krishna. Srila Gurudev also narrated a charming personal anecdote, wherein, during a function, he was invited to give a vote of thanks after the talk of a Mayavadi professor.

On 14 August, Srila Gurudev went to a small town of northern California, Sebastopol. Srila Gurudev started first by explaining the difference between dharma and religion. Religion refers to a system of faith and worship, while dharma means, "that which holds the society together". Dharma, therefore, also contains religion within itself. Srila Gurudev then started explaining the meaning of "happiness" in this world. According to Vishnu Sharma (in Panchatantra), one measures happiness by six factors, such as wealth, sound health, beautiful and obedient wife, good and obedient son, etc. But having more money causes attachment, and having less money causes suffering. Sound health causes pain due to attachment in leaving the body at the time of death; bad health causes pain during life. In this way, material happiness is painful in all aspects. One has to develop attachment for Krishna. Then one will be freed from any kind of sufferings and he will get eternal happiness.

Maya is so strong---she always maintains a firm grip on the conditioned soul. We sometimes see that people will fall asleep while hearing Bhagavat, even when it is emanating from the lips of a suddha bhakta. It is Maya who tries to stop the person from hearing Bhagavat in the form of sleep. Maya does not want to release that person from her grasp.