Disappearance Of Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja

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All Glories unto Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga! This Last Guru Purnima 2003 marked the disappearance lila of one of the last remaining disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, His Holiness Sri Srimad Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja. A month short of aging eighty-eight years, he exhibited his nitya lila in the holy dham of Jagannath Puri, in his private room at The Jagannath Caitanya Sangha asrama on Gaur Bhat Sahi Road, located between the Tota Gopinath Temple and Haridas Thakur's Samadhi. He had been residing there, fully engaged in sadhana bhakti, for approximately the last twenty years. Prior to that he had made his residence in Sridham Mayapur, West Bengal.

 

On the morning of Monday July 14, 2003, at the auspicious hour of Brahma murtha, his disciple Lalita Madhava das, who had been his personal servant for many years, discovered Srila Damodar Goswami's peaceful body. Although Srila Damodar Goswami had been consistently informing his disciples that his physical exit was near, by making statement such as: Srimati Radharani is calling me home, and There is nothing left for me here, as my Gurudeva and his associates have all left, a natural outpour of grief and separation followed his departure. Coinciding with the divine illness lila exhibited on a yearly basis by the great Jagannath deities in Puri, prior to the Ratha yatra festival, Srila Damodar Goswami's body also began to exhibit illness. During this time, he became entirely absorbed in Vraja lila, refusing all food or drink that was being offered to him. With the culmination of the grand chariot festival in Puri, Sri Sripad Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja also culminated his earthly pastimes. His transcendental body was worshiped with chandan paste and flowers before taken on a wonderful Sankirtan procession.

 

Keeping with the tradition of departing vaishnavas in the holy dham of Jagannath Puri, (which, since the personal entombment of Haridas Thakura's body by Lord Gauranga Himself, favors cremation over samhadhi erection) Srila Damodar Goswami's transcendental form was taken to the burning ghat by the Sea at Puri. The mass procession, which begun at eleven in the morning and lasted until three in the afternoon, was composed of over three hundred vaishnavas, headed by Sajjan Maharaja, Govinda Maharaja and Damodar Prabhu. Also chanting in the procession were Srila Bhaktipromode Puri Maharaja's disciples, devotees from the ISKCON temple, all other local and visiting gaudiya vaishnavas and the Jagannath temple pandas, as well as thousands of other fortunate pilgrims who gathered in spontaneous glorification of The Holy Name of The Supreme Lord, and His pure devotee. After the last rites were complete, Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami's holy ashes were scattered by several devotees atop the same ocean were Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu exhibited his various lilas, in Jagannath Puri, Orissa.

 

To honor the divine disappearance of His Holiness Sri Sripad Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja all are invited to the following memorial services and feasts are being held in his honor:

 

1. On July 26th, at The Jagannath Caitanya Sangha on Gaur Bhat Sahi road, in Jagannath Puri, India, disciples Lalita Madhava das and Sudevi dasi are holding a grand feast at which honorary guests will speak, representing all vaishnava temples of Puri, in glorification of Sri Sripad Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami.

 

2. On July 20th, at the ISKCON New Raman Reti Radha Syamasundar Temple in Alachua, Florida USA, a Sunday Feast is being sponsored by his disciples Pran Govinda das and Krishna Kanta dasi.

 

3. Brahmacari disciples Deva Prasad das and Anirudha das are holding continuous bhajans and sat Sangha programs at the New Zealand branch of The Jagannath Caitanya Sangha.

 

In closing, we humbly request that we please be forgiven for any offenses we may have unintentionally committed in the swift composition of this announcement of our beloved guru's disappearance, as we have failed to mention by name all the sanyasis and senior devotees present at his funeral procession. May our respectful and humble obeisances go out to all those who were present at this rare event. It is our great misfortune that we weren't able to attend. Our absence there, on that auspicious day, thus makes the reporting on this article incomplete. We beg all vaishnavas who have more detailed information on this event to please contact us, his unworthy disciples, at p.Govind@juno.com and krsnakanta@juno.com. We would be most thankful.

 

Posted by Pran Govinda das and Krishna Kanta dasi of New Raman Reti Dham, Alachua, Florida, USA.

 

The Divine Life Of Sri Srimad Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja

 

Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami made his holy appearance in former India, what is today Bangladesh in the district of Joshahar, Maheshpur. This was the same place where Lord Nityananda's associate, Sundarananda Thakur, appeared less than five hundred years before. Sundarananda Thakur was a divine incarnation of one of the twelve main cowherd boys of Sri Krishna's Vrindavan pastimes, thus the village where he appeared, was a simple community of Vaishnava cow herders.

 

The year was 1914, and Srila Damodar Goswami's' parents, both from brahminical families, had lost several children to illness. His father was a very talented philosopher and Brahmin yogi, and his mother was a very pious woman of saintly qualities. Her purity was known to attract many traveling sadhus to their home. Divinely inspired through their association, she prayed, as is customary in Vedic culture, unto the Supreme Lord's external potency, for a saint who would not fall under Maya's bewildering spell of illusion. Two years later, in 1916, her sincere prayer was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a male child, a saint, later to be known as His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja.

 

During his birth, an intense illumination shone in the room; a light so bright that it attracted neighbors from surrounding houses, who all came to see the auspicious omen. After birthing the child, the light eventually disappeared and the mother fell into a sudden state of unconsciousness, in which a goddess came to her and spoke as follows: Into your home we have sent a very dear devotee of my Lord. Please care for him and keep him away from impure places and association. Take caution also that he not take any un-offered foods, for if you don't fulfill these requests he shall leave you. For this reason, his mother took very special care of him after he was born. She knew this was not really her child, but a servant of The Supreme Lord, which she would have to return to Him one day. For, in Vedic culture when you pray for a child, you must offer that child back to God to repay Him for his kindness. An offering given in gratitude is called a khodhi, thus he was given the name Ek khodhi, one khodhi. Two years later his mother left her body.

 

His early childhood was spent primarily with his uncle: a compassionate and caring Vaishnava monk who took it upon himself to rear the child in preparation for the boys' monastic life. The home deities where Ek-khodhi was raised were called Sri Sri Radha Vallabha, which his uncle served throughout the day. His uncle would also occupy himself with caring for the cows, always aloof from the mundane and absorbed in the mood of material renunciation. The young boy favored the association of his austere Brahmacari uncle over that of his other householder relatives, exhibiting a rare aversion to any arrangements they made for his sensual enjoyment. He was spontaneously attracted to devotional activities and deity worship, and was indifferent to materialistic pursuits.

 

Upon turning six years of age, his father was bound to keep the promise he, and his deceased wife had made to return the child unto God. Thus he sought out The Lords most recognized and empowered representative of the time, the saktavesa Avatar Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja Prabhupada, to deliver their son unto him. It was a time when The First World War was nearing its end, and India's citizens were involved in a nationalistic revolution, which was being encouraged by Mahatma Gandhi's popular non-cooperation movement against the British Rule. It was within this tumultuous atmosphere that Srila Sarasvati Thakur began his revolutionary preaching. Yet he did not concern himself with the liberation of a singular nation, but with the liberation of all the souls who suffered due to their misidentifications with the temporary designations of a particular nationality, race, religion, caste, etc. His interests lied in igniting a spiritual awakening of all humanity through propagating the science of self realization as outlined within the sacred Vedic scriptures. It was unto the lotus feet of this dear devotee of The Lord, that a humble Brahmin priest from Maheshpur offered his young son, Ek-khodhi.

 

Thus the young boy took the first darshan (holy sighting) of his spiritual master in 1921, at the Gaudiya Math on Ultadanga Junction Road, in Calcutta. At the young age of six, he knew within his heart that he had been placed in the care of a saint, a super-human personality, whom he immediately recognized as his eternal, divine master. Entirely at the mercy of this great mahabhagavat, the boy experienced a wonderful relief, for he finally felt as if the spiritual yearnings of his heart were to be understood and satiated. That same day, the child refused to leave Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's presence, and remained at his side thereafter. His asrama life had thus begun.

 

After eleven years of engaging himself in the activities of a strict monastic: regularly chanting, studying the scriptures and worshiping the deity, at the age of sixteen, Ek-khodhi was formally initiated into the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. It was 1932 when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati bestowed upon him this diksha initiation, naming him Sriman Chidananda das Brahmacari. His Brahmin initiation, in which he took the sacred thread, followed shortly after. His Gurudeva took it upon himself to personally educate him in the science of astrology, and arranged for him to receive a formal college education as well, which eventually earned him a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis on religious studies.

 

The year of 1936 marked the disappearance lila of Srila Damodar Maharaja's spiritual master, the renowned Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. After this incident Srila Damodar Maharaja left on a preaching mission to the city of Jharnagram, located just south of Calcutta. He was accompanied by his God brother Srila Paramahamsa Maharaja, as they were to preach together.

 

In May of 1947, at the age of thirty-two, he formally entered into the renounced order of life called sanyassa, and was bestowed with the name Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami. His elder God brother the respected Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaja conducted the ceremony in the holy Dham of Vrindavan. This well-known disciple of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's had served him quite intently during his preaching efforts of the 1930's. Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami also served as the editor to his Guru's English Preaching publication called The Harmonist.

 

Upon turning forty-five years of age, Srila Damodar Goswami served at one of the temples established by his spiritual master. This temple was Purushotam Math, in Puri, Orissa. At that time it was under the care of Srila Bhakti Sambal Bhagavat Maharaja. This period of deity worship and temple preaching was followed by another preaching excursion to the city of Calcutta, alongside his senior Godbrother, and an early follower of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's, Srila Bhakti Bijhan Asrama Maharaja.

 

Upon leaving this world, Srila Bhakti Bijhan Asrama Maharaja left his small math in Sridam Mayapur to Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Maharaja. It was located only a short walking distance from Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Holy Birth-sight. Here, Srila Damodar Maharaja lived a quiet and simple life. Then, during the 1970's and 1980's he assisted the movement of A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami, his Godbrother and founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which built it's international headquarters directly adjacent to Damodar Maharaja's asrama. Thus he involved himself in helping spread Mahaprabhu's Movement through facilitating the acquisition of land, within Mayapur and other holy areas of India, for ISKCON.

 

After the disappearance lila of his dear Godbrother Sri Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Damodar Maharaja eventually gave his land and small math to ISKCON, with the intention of having his land used for a large publishing house, which would distribute books on Mahaprabhu's teachings. It made him very happy to see ISKCON's Bhaktivedanta book Trust, erect a huge building on his former dwelling place for this purpose. In exchange for this, Srila Damodar Maharaja was given a new dwelling place in the holy Dham of Sri Jagannath Puri, as he wished. In the early 1980's he made a small math there his permanent residence, naming it The Sri Sri Jagannath Caitanya Sangha, the association of devotees of Lord Jagannath and Sri Caitanya.

 

The year of 1989 brought with it a series of heart attacks, which, since occurring in the body of a paramahamsa should no be confused, with the mortal illness of regular men. The supreme Lord always is enacting his divine plan, and through His divine will we receive the guidance of how we can be of service to Him. After these heart attacks, Srila Damodar Maharaja felt drawn to living a secluded life in the holy Dham of Puri. There he absorbed himself more and more in his personal deity worship, and his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. His involvement with missionary preaching efforts declined and he concentrated on preaching on more personal levels to fewer souls. He would offer his darshan daily to school children, neighboring priests, monastics, travelers, householders and local villagers. He engaged himself in giving advice on scriptural and philosophical issues upon inquiry from other maths (temples) and searching souls. And he produced many writings on Sanatan dharma and Bhakti yoga. One of his most noted publications involved reestablishing Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode's evidence, which asserted the exact birthplace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Prior to this publication, during the early nineteen hundred and eighties the local gaudiya vaishnava temples still debated over this important issue, making the alternative and erroneous location of Mahaprabhu's birthplace so popular that even India's president at that time made his pilgrimage there, instead of to the actual birthplace. At ISKCON's request Srila Damodar Goswami produced the much- needed proof of the actual birthplace, which was then published in Bengali by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust of Mayapur.

 

With each passing year Srila Damodar Goswami withdrew himself more and more into an almost constant meditation on the Divine Forms of the Supreme Lord. The divine Vigrahas (sacred images), of The Supreme Lordships which, Srila Damodar Maharaja worshiped in Puri are Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhara, (Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya and Srimati Radharani), and Mahabhava-Rasaraja (Radha-Krishna), following in the same mood and tradition as his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He also installed murtis of Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladeva, Subhadra Maharani and Sudarshan, in a small room of his humble asrama.

 

For several years prior to his departure Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami had been expressing to his intimate disciples that he often heard Srimati Radharani calling him home. As he prepared himself for his disappearance from this material realm, he often withdrew into meditative states of absorption in the transcendentally sweet pastimes of Radha and Krishna. Well known and respected by the temple pandits (priests) in Puri, he spent his final months offering spiritual council, lecturing, engaging himself in deity worship, the reading of scriptures and primarily in chanting the holy names of the Lord. Due to complications brought on by physical illness, his traveling and writings had greatly decreased years before.

 

Today, Srila Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja engages himself as servant to the servants of Srimati Radharani in Goloka Vrindavan, having entered into his eternal spiritual abode, yet the beautiful deities he installed remain here with us, to bless all sincere spiritual aspirants. As Srila Damodar Goswami personally expressed to one of his disciples: Whoever is fortunate enough to take darshan of these merciful deities, Sri Sri Gaura Gadadhara Mahabhava Rasaraja, is sure to have their prayers answered and their spiritual desires fulfilled. Thus we would like to invite all sincere readers to take darshan of our beloved spiritual master's deities, in his asrama at Jagannath Puri Dham: The Sri Sri Jagannath Caitanya Sangha.

 

May the narration of saintly personalities, like that of Sri Sripad Bhaktiprappan Damodar Goswami Maharaja, and the other great vaishnava acaryas in our disciplic succession, inspire us conditioned souls to devote ourselves towards serving such great personalities with all our words, our actions, our minds, our hearts, and thus make our lives successful.

 

We are all sojourners on the path of death. Everyone has to die; therefore, in this state of life whether one is male or female, high or low, king or subject, rich or poor, learned or foolish- everyone can make this very form of life successful by becoming a servant of the servant of the eternally pure, completely blissful Sri Hari. Even in this conditioned life one can become liberated. Therefore, it is overwhelmingly necessary to try Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

 

Posted by an disciple of Sri Srimad Srila Bhaktiprapan Damodar Goswami Maharaja,

Krishna Kanta dasi