Stories of Srila Gaur Govinda Swami....

Gauracandra · February 12, 2001

By popular demand I have gathered stories of Srila Gaur Govinda Swami, which I'll post here. I hope you enjoy them.

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In the early days of the Bhubaneswar temple, the prasadam used to be very austere and small in quantity. It consisted mainly of kichari, dalma, and rice. In those days Srila Gaur Govinda Maharaja was only eating once a day. The cook used to offer him a small glass of fresh cow’s milk every day. Once a grhastha devotee came to Gurudeva and complained, “I am not getting milk every day, but you are getting milk.” In this way he found fault with Guru Maharaja. On that day Srila Gaur Govinda Maharaja took a vow never to take milk again. He strictly followed that vow throughout the rest of his life.

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Gauracandra · February 13, 2001

After some time Srila Gaur Govinda Maharaja moved onto the land that had been donated to Iskcon at Nayapalli Village in Bhubaneswar. With his own hands he constructed a thatched hut on the donated property from the donations he had collected. The property then was a dense bushy jungle full of poisonous snakes, scorpions, insects, ghosts and dacoits. Even in the middle of the day no rickshaw walla or taxi driver would venture to go there out of fear. Srila Gaur Govinda Maharaja stayed there alone. Years later he would tell devotees how by his chanting Hare Krsna all the ghosts fled.

Once Sacinandana Dasa asked him, “How can you stay in this place?” Srila Gaur Govinda Maharaja replied with a big wonderful smile, “Wherever Krsna has placed me to stay, I must accept that situation with love in order to serve the cause of guru. Krsna’s will is supreme, and we must accept it with joy, without the least hesitation.” Considering the desire of Srila Prabhupada as his very life and soul, Srila Gaur Govinda Maharaja was undaunted and worked with unwavering determination to fulfill it.

In early 1977 Srila Prabhupada came to Bhubaneswar. Although the arrangement had been made for Srila Prabhupada to stay comfortably in the government state guesthouse, Srila Prabhupada at once rejected this proposal, “I will only stay where my disciple child Gaur Govinda has built a mud hut for me.” Srila Prabhupada stayed in Bhubaneswar for seventeen days, during which he layed the foundation stone of the temple-to-be on the auspicious occasion of Lord Nityananda’s appearance day. This was Srila Prabhupada’s last founded project.

[Note: In February 1996 Srila Gaur Govinda Swami was placed in samadhi in the simple mud hut he built for his spiritual master nearly 20 years earlier.]

a_kaul · February 13, 2001

Prabhu , indeed we all are thankful to you having kept your word and posted more info.

Although the thirst for more info. will never be over , I therefore request you to keep on posting ( whenever you find it appropriate )the past times of our acharayas so that we can learn how to lead our lives.

Hare Krishna !!

Ajay

Gauracandra · February 13, 2001

Prior to meeting Srila Prabhupada, Srila Gaur Govinda Swami worked as a school teacher. At the age of 45, in 1974, he gave notice at his position and renounced the world to seek a divine guru to guide him. The following is the recollection of one of his students of that day when Brajbandhu Manik, renounced the world and took the name Gaura Gopala, later to be given sannyasa by Srila Prabhupada as Gaura Govinda:

“I heard that Gurudeva had left his family life and his position as a teacher and had gone to the Kakudia Math. The day after he left home I went to Kakudia Math to see him. When I arrived he was sitting and looking at a picture of Gopal and singing over and over again, “Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala” In the afternoon a group of teachers and students from the high school arrived to meet him. They were stunned by his sudden renunciation. They asked him, “Why have you left your job and your home?” Gurudeva then asked me to recite Manabodha-cautisa, “Instructions to the Mind”, a song by the Oriya Vaishnava Bhakta Charan Das:

I say to you, O mind: Obey my order!

Let us go and see the beautiful black-faced one [Lord Jagannath]

For how long will you remain bound in material life?

At the end of your life, what will you take with you?

Piece by piece your ribs will be distributed

Amongst the dogs and jackals.

O mind, you are now sleeping comfortably on a nice mattress,

But after death your body will give off a terrible smell.

How many of your friends and family have already died?

How much of their wealth could they bind in a cloth to take with them?

You have never uttered the names of guru and Govinda!

Always deeply absorbed in thinking how to gather wealth,

You are acquiring so many things like house and family!

But when your life is gone, all will cry “Ghost!”

The ladies of the house will close up the doors.

And only after the recommended period of purification will

Your relatives be considered freed from contamination.

Gurudeva was listening intently to the song. When I came to the last line he fainted and fell back unconscious against me.

a_kaul · February 14, 2001

Hare Krishna Gaurancandra Prabhu !!

There is no end to knowledge.....realizing truth is a journey and not a destination and with the help of the devotees like you , who go on distributing the knowledge of self realized souls , I am sure

that by this association, I will realize the SUPREME...one day !!

Thanks for your consistent posting !!

(expecting or should I say hoping for more)

Hare Krishna !!

Ajay