Srila Govinda Maharaja visits Australia

[Guest guest]

Sri Sri Guru Gaurangau Jayatah

 

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Sridhar Sangha, Australia

 

 

His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj has returned to Australia for the fifth time, together with Sripad Bhakti Amal Paramahamsa Maharaj and Sripad Bhakti Ananda Sagar Maharaj.

 

 

 

A large gathering of disciples from Australia, New Zealand and the USA met Srila Gurudev at Brisbane airport on Saturday morning (April 23rd).

 

After greeting Srila Gurudev most of us followed Srila Govinda Maharaj's car which sped off to Sri Govinda Dham, driven by Maharaj's long serving high-speed chauffeur Prabhu Hari Mohan.

 

 

 

At Sri Govinda Dham, Srila Gurudev had the darshan of Sri Gaurasundarjiu. He also saw all the improvements that have been made at the ashram during the past two years. Srila Gurudev was a little tired on Saturday and Sunday, but he became very enlivened on Sunday evening when he met with all the assembled devotees and newcomers who had come to have his holy association.

 

 

 

Sripad Bhakti Amal Paramahamsa Maharaj is now taking a more active role in the preaching work. Together with other devotees, Sripad Paramahamsa Maharaj is now going out every day in a large bus that Prabhu Nitya Hari aquired. Most of the devotees in this "bus party" are visiting devotees from the USA, and their mood is extremely festive and joyful. They are doing all the usual missionary work - street sankirttan, prashad distribution, book distribution - and they are having a great time too.

 

 

 

Several large public programs are planned during Srila Govinda Maharaj's stay here in Australia. There are weekly programs in Brisbane and the tourist town of Byron Bay. And a huge program is planned for the Nimbin Mardi Grass festival where Srila Govinda Maharaj will be the special Guest of honour.

 

A large festival will also be happening at The Channon, at the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Sridhar Sangha ashram, on the ninth of May. Speaking engagements at Southern Cross University in the regional centre of Lismore are also planned.

 

 

 

Srila Govinda Maharaj himself is mainly involved in speaking with the devotees of our Math who are already serving and trying to make progress in this line of devotion. He speaks with the devotees at Sri Govinda Dham for more than three hours a day.

 

 

 

Srila Govinda Maharaj is encouraging Sripad Paramhamsa Maharaj to take an active role in the public preaching work, while Srila Gurudev himself focuses on providing spiritual nourishment and guidance for the long-serving devotees of the mission.

 

 

 

Since arriving in Australia, Srila Govinda Maharaj has spoken on a number of occasions about the danger of sahajiyaism, which is now becoming more widespread amongst the other communities of Bhakti-practitioners that are around us. Srila Govinda Maharaj is encouraging devotees to do service and to try and chant Hari-nama without offence. The pastimes of Sri Sri Radha Krishna are going on high above our heads, but we ourselver should try to serve the servants of the servants of the servants of Sri Rupa Goswami, and should always maintain our full respect for the Divine Couple, worshipping them from a distance. Our proper duty is to serve Guru-Gauranga in the straightforward way that was taught by Srila Guru Maharaj and Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj.