Hare Krishna

5^th Tirobhava Mahotsava

H.H.Srila Sripada Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Maharaj

Sri Gopalji Mandir , Radhakund, U.P. India

Request for sponsorship

Dear Maharajas, devotees, friends and well-wishers,

We offer our most humble and sincere dandavat pranam. All glories to Srila Sripada and Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Sri Gopalji, Radhakund-Shyamakund and Giri Govardhan.

Dear devotees, friends and well-wishers, we humbly request to support for the celebration of our beloved Gurumaharaja Srila Sripada Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Maharaja’s 5^th Tirobhava (disappearance day) Mahotshava from the 5^th to 7^th of October 2011 here in Srila Sripada’s Suddha Sri Samadhi Mandir at Sri Gopalji Mandir in Sridham Radhakund. UP. INDIA by contributing best possible way one can extend.

We are simply learning to organize this auspicious event to please our beloved Srila Gurudeva but it is not possible to celebrate without your physical and moral supports, advices and monetary assistants.

Due to inflation especially in India, in all respects general commodities are above 8% increased compared to last year. Please contribute either fully or partially of the following list which is given with estimated budget:

Wednesday 5^th October 2011:

1.108 Brijbasi brahman Bhojan Seva with dhakshin at Sri Gopalji Mandir, Radhakund – Sponsored

2. For around 1200 devotees feast at Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir, ISKCON Vrindavan –Rs. 100,000/-.

Thursday 6^th October (Vijayadasami)-Tirobhava Mahotsava: 

3. Prasadam Seva for around 1500 devotees at Sri Gopalji mandir, Radhakund    – Rs.130,000/-.

Friday 7^th October:

4. Feast for all devotees at Sri Gopalji mandir, Radhakund  -  sponsored.

5. Floral decoration cost for both Gopalji Mandir, Radhakund and Krishna Balaram Mandir,

    Vrindaban on 6^th October- Rs.35,000/-. 

6. Lighting and Sound – Rs.20,000/-.        

7. Tent and decoration – Rs.45,000/-.

8. Two way Bus transport for  two days festival between Radhakund and Vrindavan – Rs. 20,000/-.

9. Cultural programs for two evenings –   Sponsored.

10. Some amount for ongoing preparatory renovation works.

Yours in the service of Sri guru and Gauranga,

Disciples and followers of H.H. Srila Sripada Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Maharaja

( re presented by Sukadeva Das)

Parikrama Marg, Sri Gopalji Mandir Radhakund. UP. India

Contribution may be made either (domestic) by bank transfer: SBI Bank A/c. no 11717058162 Bhakti Swarup Damodar Swami

Or (Overseas) by Western Union to Sukadeva Das, Sri Gopalji Mandir, Radha kund UP. India

Note: Any changes or sponsored item(s) will be updated regularly. If there is any advices, suggestions or comment are most welcome.

–
Sri Gopalji Mandir &
Srila Sripada Samadhi Mandir
Parikrama Marg, Radhakund-281504
Tel.+91 565 296 0021
Mob. +91 9897430910

–
Sri Gopalji Mandir &
Srila Sripada Samadhi Mandir
Parikrama Marg, Radhakund-281504
Tel.+91 565 296 0021
Mob. +91 9897430910

www.jswami.info

Now that “our scientist,” Sripada Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, has departed from our worldly vision, we have lost a unique and beloved member of the spiritual world in which we grew up and lived, the world of Srila Prabhupada’s pastimes on earth, and the world in which the disciples he personally instructed have carried on the special missions he gave them. From the very beginning of Maharaja’s spiritual life in ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada chose to show him special attention and favor. Seeing Maharaja’s dual qualifications as a Vaishnava scientist and a Manipuri Vaishnava, Srila Prabhupada personally trained him in “spiritual science” and gave great importance to his scientific work, and also instructed him to strengthen Krishna consciousness in Manipur. Maharaja carried out his service to Srila Prabhupada in both these fields with great dedication and distinction. He was dear to the devotees for his saintly qualities and his powerful sankirtana, and for his disciples he served as their spiritual father and eternal friend. “Life comes from life,” and life is eternal. As Srila Prabhupada enlivened him, he has enlivened others. And both he and his legacy will live on. Hare Krishna.

My Dear Mahārāja,

Danḍavat. All glories to Your Divine Grace. Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Although I have met your several times until March 2006, I have never written any letter to you. I hope and pray that you will accept this posthumous offering at your lotus feet.

As I sat for my work today one e-mail popped from my dear god-brother in Calcutta, Shyāmāramaṇa dāsa. The news of your passing away came a bit untimely and unexpectedly. For a long moment I cast away all the work that I was doing and meditated on the lesson that you were teaching me : we have to be Kṛṣṇa conscious every moment. It might be my turn next. Who knows ? You are an Ācārya in your glorious passing as much as you were while you walked this planet.

Mahārāja, faint memories come flooding back as I meditate on your glorious passing. It is so wonderful that despite not being our body we take such pleasure in the philosophy of personalism through intimate association Vaiṣṇavas. Your life was a living lesson. Although I didn’t get your association the way some of your disciples, friends or well wishers did, I salute you from a distance with a pained heart. You are, in more than many ways, my hero. You are an Ācārya in your glorious passing as much as you were while you walked this planet.

I don’t remember the first time I met you: it was probably in the Māyāpura Candrodaya temple, probably back in the early 90s. I have seen you many times since then. I, however, remember you the last time I saw you. You had walked out of the Bhaktivedānta Institute bus that stood on one of the parks of the Candrodaya temple. Although I had been re-introduced to you by Shyāmāramaṇa prabhu, your disciple Shyāmārāni’s brother, I had not been able to talk to you at that moment. I took the opportunity to talk to you when I saw you coming out of the bus. I never thought that it would be my last meeting with you. You had asked me about my service and I remember you hearing, thinking and responding back when I said that HH Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī, my spiritual master, had encouraged me to “follow up” his academic work and preaching. I remember your encouragement and am thankful for your blessings for being able to do this service at Oxford University right now. I look up to you as one of the first academic preachers in ISKCON, and understand through your example how much Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted some devotees to talk to atheistic professors, scholars and scientists presenting them pure Kṛṣṇa Consciousness in their own language. You are an Ācārya in your glorious passing as much as you were while you walked this planet.

Beyond all that, Mahārāja, I know your heart is always with Kṛṣṇa and his dear devotees, especially Śrīla Prabhupāda. Please bless me that no matter how much I falter in my attempts to be steady devotee, one day I can follow your footsteps and make my life successful by remembering Kṛṣṇa intensely with loving devotion when I leave my body.

You have set an example for everybody in your passing : like your own spiritual master you were in the battlefield till the last moment. Like Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati Prabhupāda you left your body in Calcutta while preaching. I admire you as my ṣiksā guru and look up to you with awe and reverence. You are an Ācārya in your glorious passing as much as you were while you walked this planet.

The next time I see you on this planet, you would be situated in samādhi in your well deserved and rightful place : on the banks of Rādhā Kunḍa. The next time I shall perform circumambulation of the holy dhāma of Vṛndāvana, I shall surely come and pray for your inspiration that I may never be diverted from my service or be diverted from Kṛṣṇa by making my service a material affair. Please bless me so that one day I can become perfect one day and join you and your other godbrothers in nitya-līlā as a subservient assistant. For you are an Ācārya in your glorious passing as much as you were while you walked this planet.

Your spiritual nephew

Kṛṣṇābhiṣeka dāsa

October 8, 2006 Carpinteria, CA USA

My dear Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We are missing you terribly today, after your sudden departure from this realm of mortality to the service of Srila Prabhupada in eternity.

My thoughts turn to my earliest association with you. I had been suffering from a relapse of jaundice in Bombay, and Srila Prabhupada said that as long as I remained there I would be unable to recover. So I returned to the United States for treatment, and after spending about five days in Chicago, proceeded to Los Angeles.

There, you were continuing your association with the devotees and going on your famous morning walks with Srila Prabhupada, discussing the principle of “life comes from life” and the importance of scientific preaching. As I gradually recovered from my illness, I was able to accompany you and Srila Prabhupada on some of the walks and to be in Srila Prabhupada’s room when you and sometimes Dr. Wolf-Rottkay came to meet him. Hearing your discussions, I was struck by your humility and simplicity–and by your open and intimate relationship with Srila Prabhupada. He had so much love for you and put so much trust in you–and surely, his great hopes for you were not disappointed. Your patent sincerity, combined with your intellectual prowess, were strong qualifications for understanding Srila Prabhupada and his teachings and mission–and the specific mission he gave to you. You took all of his words to heart and were so enthusiastic to take up his call. Obviously, you were a very pure devotee from your birth, from your culture, and in Srila Prabhupada’s association your natural devotion was encouraged and manifested. It was like a jewel that Srila Prabhupada mined and cut and polished–and then held out to sparkle for the world, for all the world’s the benefit.

Earlier in 1973, a scientist had come to the university and given a lecture on how life had arisen from a combination of four primordial elements: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. With so many technical words and diagrams and formulas, he tried to establish that life had come from these material elements. At the end of the presentation you had stood and inquired, “If I give you these ingredients, will you be able to produce life?” And the scientist had replied, “That I do not know.” Srila Prabhupada was so pleased and proud of you that he spoke of the incident in his lectures and conversations–how “our Svarupa Damodara” had challenged the scientist and defeated the notion that life comes from matter.

Being with you and Srila Prabhupada in that atmosphere, I became inspired by the idea of scientific preaching. Although I was not qualified like you, materially or spiritually, I did have some desire to participate. So one day I approached Srila Prabhupada in his room, during his massage, and told him that I was willing to join in the scientific preaching. He, in a relaxed, blissful mood, simply smiled and said, “Your field is psychology.” (He knew I had been a psychology major.) Still, he said I could apply that knowledge in the work of the Bhaktivedanta Institute. Then I told him that I noticed that when he spoke about the scientists he used such words as “nonsense” and “rascals” and said that we should “kick them in the face with boots,” and I asked whether when we preached or met with scientists we should use such language. And Srila Prabhupada replied, “No. You should speak like a gentleman.”

Soon enough, I was able to recover my health and return to India (as Srila Prabhupada had told me in LA, “Back home, back to Bombay”) to work on the Juhu project. In time, the project developed and we were able to provide Srila Prabhupada a facility on the fifth floor of the west tower, overlooking the Arabian Sea. There too, Srila Prabhupada continued to emphasize the importance of scientific preaching and to encourage you in all respects. I was fortunate to be present with Tamal Krishna Goswami when Srila Prabhupada asked him how much money the Bhaktivedanta Institute, the BI, needed for its work. Goswami Maharaja wasn’t sure exactly–he said he would have to consult with you–but he thought about $10,000 a month. And Srila Prabhupada, without a moment’s hesitation, responded, “Arrange immediately.” He wanted you to have whatever you needed; he didn’t want you to have to worry about money.

Srila Prabhupada was also concerned that you should have proper offices in the new construction. Although he had instructed that in general our offices should be at the back of the property in the old tenement buildings, he insisted that the BI should be in the temple complex, in a prominent location. So you and I reviewed the architectural drawings and walked through the site and decided on the six rooms between the two towers on the second floor (in America, the third floor), three overlooking the temple courtyard and three overlooking the guesthouse entrance. Later, you created a room on the western end of the offices overlooking the temple for use as a conference room, and you got other rooms to use for residence.

In the 1970s you were still quite new to ISKCON’s ways, and because of your humble and gentle nature–and your highly cultured (and different) background–you were often overlooked by ISKCON’s leaders. Although I myself was not one of the big managers, at least I was able to speak with them on your behalf. Being attracted by your gentle and humble nature, and knowing how much Srila Prabhupada loved and cared for you, I would often ask how you were doing and if you needed anything, and you, in turn, would approach me whenever you had some difficulty or needed to get some message through to the leaders. So I was pleased to present your concerns to them, or to arrange for you to meet with them and present your concerns to them directly.

In March of 1977 we arranged a pandal program for Srila Prabhupada at Cross Maidan in downtown Bombay, and as part of the program Srila Prabhupada wanted you to make a presentation. Although Prabhupada was quite ill then
(this proved to be his last public engagement) and remaining in the pandal for long was a strain for him, he was so keen on your work that he wanted to be there for your presentation. The programs began in the early evening, and after the first kirtana and Prabhupada’s own lecture, when he usually left, you began your presentation about “life comes from life,” with slides and your own explanations.

Earlier, Srila Prabhupada had commented that ordinary people can’t understand what the scientists are saying but that they are impressed by the scientists’ bombastic words–the complicated calculations and formulations and diagrams and jargon. So even if people don’t understand what we are saying, if they see that we too have scientists who make presentations with technical language and scientific evidence–in favor of God and the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita–they will be impressed and think, “Oh, this is scientific; we can believe what they say.”

So Srila Prabhupada–I will never forget how happy he was. I had hardly ever seen him so happy. He was so pleased with your presentation that evening at Cross Maidan–he really felt that this approach could change the world. He knew that the scientists’ ideas were guiding all of human society and that, unfortunately, most of the scientists were atheistic. On a morning walk in Juhu I had told Srila Prabhupada about a news report about a scientist who had been in town, and when asked where the ingredients for creation came from, had replied that he didn’t know. “Then why do you talk nonsense?” Srila Prabhupada had retorted, as if to the scientist. “Another rascal. You do not know from where the ingredients came. Our answer is, Krsna reveals, aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate [Bg 10.8]: ‘The ingredients come from Me.’” But the scientist had said more. So I had continued, “He replied that he didn’t know but that he was sure that the answer wouldn’t involve God.” And Prabhupada had responded, with sarcasm, “Still, he is scientist. He doesn’t know–he is rascal–still, he is scientist. Just see.” Srila Prabhupada considered the scientific preaching to be crucial, so that God will assume His rightful place in people’s consciousness, in their understanding of the scheme of things, and their human lives will not be wasted in animalistic, materialistic pursuits.

Srila Prabhupada wanted you to present the same philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita in scientific language. Once, some devotees proposed to Srila Prabhupada that we use the name “Bhaktivedanta Research Institute,” because research is so popular and people like to give for it. But Srila Prabhupada was emphatic: “No ‘research.’ The research is already done–Bhagavad-gita. No research.” He was pleased when you published The Scientific Basis of Krsna Consciousness.

After the pandal program, Srila Prabhupada spent some time in Juhu, and following a brief stay in Rishikesh, retired to Vrndavana, where he was to spend most of his last months. There, with Prabhupada’s encouragement and guidance, you organized an international conference on “Life Comes from Life,” October 14, 15, and 16. And Srila Prabhupada, although so ill, took personal interest in every detail. He was pleased when he heard your reports about your meetings with various scientists and other leaders you invited, and he was even more pleased when he heard the reports, from you and from others, about the conference itself. In fact, he became ecstatic.

Earlier, at the end of August, Srila Prabhupada had gone to England, and there he had called for you. In a most personal, private, and intimate encounter, he had appealed to you, “Please take me from here. I want to go back to India, back to Bombay.” Many of the other leaders had other plans for Srila Prabhupada–to take him to America, to Gita-nagari–and Srila Prabhupada himself had said that he wanted to go there to establish varnasrama-dharma. But now he confided in you: “I want to go back to India, to Bombay. Please arrange.”

Srila Prabhupada wanted to see the Juhu temple open, and he returned to Bombay. But as fate would have it, he did not live to see the grand opening–although we are sure he was there in his spiritual presence. Anyway, after some time in Juhu he decided that he would go to Vrndavana, and we went with him.

There, you were in the inner group, serving Srila Prabhupada personally. I had always been impressed by your simplicity and dedication and devotion. Although you were so qualified academically, culturally, and spiritually, you were always humble and unassuming. And you were a brahmacari then, in the midst of many sannyasis. But you were very much there with Srila Prabhupada. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita purport, you were “daring and active.”

When the controversy arose about whether Srila Prabhupada should go on parikrama to Govardhana or other places, by bullock cart, you were in the group that wanted Srila Prabhupada to stay and recuperate before he attempted to travel, and you were very strong about it. And I believe that your love–the love of all of you–prevailed; your spontaneous desire to keep Srila Prabhupada with us longer, to keep him from pain and danger and perhaps even death on the way, conquered his heart, and Srila Prabhupada agreed to stay.

In your humility, you often took the night shift. Srila Prabhupada was always concerned about all the devotees, even when he was so ill, but I think he was especially concerned about you. Seeing you there at night, he was concerned that you were staying awake both day and night and not sleeping. You explained, “No, Srila Prabhupada, we take turns. When others are here during the day, I take rest, and then I come at night.” Then Srila Prabhupada gave a very important instruction: “You must take rest. If you don’t take care of your health, then later, even if you are enthusiastic to preach, you won’t be able to.”

Srila Prabhupada left us at 7:26 p.m., November 14, 1977. After putting Srila Prabhupada in samadhi in Vrndavana and carrying his flowers to Mayapur for his puspa-samadhi, Tamal Krishna Goswami and I proceeded to Bombay to work for the grand opening of the Juhu temple, which took place on January
14, 1978, exactly two months after His Divine Grace’s disappearance. We had many items to think about then, and one was certainly the BI and the facility for it and the new complex.

It was a time of deep separation from Srila Prabhupada and deep contemplation about the future of our lives, the future of ISKCON, the future of Krsna consciousness in the world. And I was very touched when once you mentioned, with utmost humility, that we should give special respect to Tamal Krishna Goswami, because of his extraordinary service to Srila Prabhupada in Prabhupada’s last days–some special position of honor and respect. That really touched me. So free from envy were you that without reservation you appreciated the service of another servant of Srila Prabhupada’s, and were prepared to express your appreciation. Because of your deep, deep attachment to Srila Prabhupada, all that really mattered to you was Srila Prabhupada–his comfort, his service, his mission–and anyone who could serve him well was worthy of your respect and appreciation, admiration and love.

Much happened in the years that followed. You organized the extraordinary “World Congress for the Synthesis of Science and Religion” in Bombay, with presentations by renowned scientists, theologians, and historians. It was a tremendous effort with wonderful results. Because of visa problems, I was unable to be present to assist you in your endeavors or even attend the event, but after my return to India I heard reports about it and eventually saw the beautiful volume, Synthesis of Science and Religion: Critical Essays and Dialogues, with papers that had been delivered at the conference. From there, you went on to plan and attend many other major conferences, and in
1996, to coincide with Srila Prabhupada’s Centennial Celebrations, you organized the “Second World Conference for the Synthesis of Science and Religion” in Calcutta, Srila Prabhupada’s place of birth.

In time you also developed the temple in Manipur. I was impressed, because it was one of the first temples other than the ones Srila Prabhupada had constructed, that devotees in ISKCON had built from scratch in the Indian, or Vedic, style of architecture. At first, after Srila Prabhupada left, you were not authorized to initiate, so you brought some of the early devotees from Manipur to Bombay to experience temple life, to be trained and initiated by Tamal Krishna Goswami. I remember them–Ekanath Prabhu and Banamali Prabhu–with great love and affection. My heart goes out to them in their separation from you, and I offer my services to them and to your project in Manipur in any way practical.

So revered and influential were you in Manipur that the royal family gave you a temple at Radha-kunda and an ashram in Navadvipa. One year, at the time of the Navadvipa parikrama, you hosted Tamal Krishna Goswami and a few of us at the facility in Navadvipa and treated us to your wonderful association, Vaisnava hospitality, and Manipuri prasada.

You also brought the great Vaisnava culture of Manipur to the world, through your Ranganiketan performances. I was fortunate to witness some of them on the summer Polish festival tour with His Holiness Indradyumna Swami.

And your own kirtanas were legendary. My office in Juhu overlooked the temple, right under the BI (appropriate that I should be under your lotus feet, as your servant), and the sounds from the temple carried right into my office. Once, I heard your kirtana but didn’t know until later that it was you singing. I was astonished. The spiritual purity and potency of the sound completely captivated me. The sound entered my heart and captured my mind.

It was always a special occasion when you led kirtana. One year in particular you led the kirtana during the Ratha-yatra in Bombay. That was truly an extraordinary experience–thousands of people around us, hundreds in the procession, and you at the center of the kirtana party, with wonderful singing and dancing and playing of kartalas and mrdanga.

So we miss you.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote in his inscription at Namacarya Haridasa Thakura’s bhajana-kutira:

He reasons ill who says that Vaisnavas die, When thou art living still in sound! The Vaisnavas die to live, and living try To spread the holy name around.

And Srila Prabhupada, in relation to the Bhaktivedanta Institute, often quoted the verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.22):

idam hi pumsas tapasah srutasya va svistasya suktasya ca buddhi-dattayoh avicyuto ‘rthah kavibhir nirupito yad-uttamasloka-gunanuvarnanam

“Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns, and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry.” He related the verse to the purpose of the BI and concluded, “Science, philosophy, physics, chemistry, psychology, and all other branches of knowledge should be wholly and solely applied in the service of the Lord . . . to establish the glory of the Lord. Advanced people are eager to understand the Absolute Truth through the medium of science, and therefore a great scientist should endeavor to prove the existence of the Lord on a scientific basis. . . . Scientific knowledge engaged in the service of the Lord and all similar activities are all factually hari-kirtana, or glorification of the Lord.”

Thus, through the BI, through your followers, your kirtana continues.

Like others, I wish that I had done more for you while you were here–and had more of your association. But knowing that you are with Srila Prabhupada, and that we have been left here to serve you both, gives solace. As Srila Prabhupada instructed, “Please remember always the humble teachings that you have received from me, and that will make you always associated with me, and with your godbrothers. We should all work together for satisfying Lord Krsna, and in that way the feelings of separation will transform into transcendental bliss.”

Our hope now is that we can somehow serve you and please you in your physical absence, and we pray for your blessings that we may satisfy you with our efforts here and then, eventually, have the opportunity to again serve you personally, in service to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

Please bless us.

Thank you. Hare Krsna.

Your eternal servant, Giriraj Swami

(The following is a letter read to the devotees at ISKCON Atlanta’s memorial service for HH Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami’s from our GBC, HH Hridayananda das Goswami.

HDG letter captures the mood of the devotees in Atlanta ISKCON. Atlanta was particularly dear to Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami because he began the Bhaktivedanta Institute here.)

I first met His Holiness Bhakti Swarupa Damodara Swami in the early 70’s when he began to visit the Los Angeles temple. I would especially see him whenever Srila Prabhupada came to New Dvaraka. Thoudam Singh, as we first knew him, was a very sincere, devoted, humble young man who was earning his PhD at the University of Calfiornia at Irvine, which is about one hour south of Los Angeles.
He would always come when Srila Prabhupada came, and he was a well-known fixture at Srila Prabhupada’s morning walks. Srila Prabhupada was delighted to see that a young, faithful scientist was becoming his disciple. In fact, it was really the presence of Swarupa Damodar, as he was known after his first initiation, that inspired Srila Prabhupada to begin the “Life Comes from Life discussions. If you look up Los Angeles in the Vedabase, you will find that often when Srila Prabhupada spoke of Los Angeles, it was in reference to Swarupa Damodar. Srila Prabhupada used to brag all over the world that this very nice young scientist has joined him. So Swarupa Damodar’s coming to Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet really was a catalyst in Srila Prabhupada’s own preaching.
Then Srila Prabhupada ordered Swarupa Damodar and others to form the Bhaktivedanta Institute which exists to this day. In the field of science preaching, Bhaktiswarupa Damodar was really ISKCON’s greatest ambassador.
His modest, charming approach won the heart of great scientists all over the world. And having won their hearts, it became possible to improve their heads with Krishna consciousness.
Bhaktisvarupa Damodar is also the great pioneer of Krishna consciousness in the Indian state of Manipur. Not only did he establish Srila Prabhupada’s mission as a major spiritual force in Manipur, but he brought traditional Manipuri Vaishnava culture all over the world.
Personally, Bhaktisvrupa Damodar was a beloved brother and friend. I knew him since he first came to Srila Prabhupada. Whenever we met there would always be affectionate, joking exchanges.
In fact, whenever he saw me, he would always take my arm and say to me, “Your pastimes are inconceivable.” He would then laugh heartily. I recall his last visit to Atlanta, at least the last one where I was present. I especially remember that he led a magnificent mangal arotik. Bhakti Swarupa Damodar was not only a promoter of Vaishnava culture, he was himself a great Vaishnava singer, who sang like a Gandharva for the Deity’s pleasure.
On this occasion, I extend my heartfelt condolences to all of his disciples, followers and friends, and to the members of his personal family.
We may take comfort in two obvious facts:
1. Bhakti Swarupa Damodar will always be remembered as one of the great pioneers of the Krishna consciousness movement, and as one of the most beloved and prominent of the Srila Prabhupada’s disciples.
2. Through his disciples, wellwishers and friends, his outstanding service to Srila Prabhupada will continue to bless the world.
All glories to Bhakti Swarupa Damodar Maharaj!
His Godbrother and servant,
Hridayananda das Goswami

Website: http://www.atlantaharekrishnas.org/

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah

namah om vishnupadaya krishna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktisvarupa damodara svamin iti namine

namah sad-bhakta-manaye manipura-udbhavaya ca
prabhupada lasad-vani pracara niratayate

babhruvahana-vamsadbhi somaya subha drstye
sunyavadi madebhendra singhaya bhagavata namah

abhayadi gunadaya sad-vijnana ghanaya ca
navya vaijnana tamas suryaya te namah

hareh katha-yata-samasta-yamo
romanca-kampasru mudabhiramah
srimad-radha-kunda-vasa-yatnah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

Srila Sripada Maharaja
would spend all eightyamas (divisions of the day)
glorifying topics of Sri Hari,
and thus he would become overwhelmed
by the manifestation of asta-sattvika transformations
headed by hairs standing erect, trembling, and tears of joy.
He would become extremely happy
when he resided in the most beautiful Sri Radha Kunda.
Will I ever again have darsana
of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

We always pray to Srimati Radhika’s lotus feet by chanting Sri Radha-kripa-kataksa Stavaraja, for Her Divine Glance upon us. But now we have to fully grateful since our prayers have been fulfilled by the auspicious presence of our beloved Om Vishnupad Ashtottara-sata Tridandi-yativara Parampujyapadapadma Paramahamsa Parivrajakacaryavarya Sri Srimad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Srila Sripada Maharaja in the midst of our lives. He is the crest-jewel of The Lord’s pure devotees (sad-bhakta siromani) descend to this planet out of his causeless mercy, took birth in The Land of Jewel, Manipura, for the welfare of the whole world. Therefore I pay my most respectful obeisance unto him, the nayantara, shining stars of the lotus eyes of Srimati Radha, who is everything for Lord Sri Krishna. Let me bow to him, which is a magnificent eternal intimate associate of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Sri Sri Radha Krishna, and the only friend, shelter, and the life of the fallen souls. All glories to Srila Sripada Maharaja, our Gurudeva, adore eternally in our heart, as the only shelter of all suffering souls, the most graceful, the limitless ocean of love and compassion. All glories unto the very embodiment of wish-fulfilling gem that meet all the desires (cintamani svarupa), the intimate associate of Sri Radhika and Sri Gaura (gaura radhika nija-jana), which is decorated by all glorious spotless nature of a Vaishnava, never take into consideration any discrepancy in other (adosa -darsi), and the best friend of the fallen (dina-bandhu). May he bestow his merciful glance toward us. By greatness of his glorious nature, he was willingly gave atonement for so much sins of a degraded being such as myself, and allowed me to have some opportunity to take part in his eternal glorification. This is my only desire and prayer that I always submit unto his divine lotus feet.

I do not know, nor seek to know, whether the righteous and not righteous, auspicious and inauspicious. However, Srila Sripada Maharaja had come from Goloka to help me. His soft hearts moved by seeing the resistance of this jiva insamsaric world. He came to me, though I have abandoned his presence. Mercifully, he has lifted me up from the worst place, gave me shelter under his beloved companions, and then after that he returned to his divine eternal abode in The Kingdom of Love of Srimati Radhika. He is full of compassionate nature for making a hard-hearted person like me could humbly recognize that there is nothing that is worth more thansadhu-sanga throughout the universe. There is no way to get Sri Bhagavan’s prasada, and the loving devotional service other than through sadhu-seva andsadhu-kripa. His Divine Grace himself has also come and bestowed his most sweet association unto me, in very valuable times that physically ended so quickly.

Only that great personality who fully surrendered themselves to Sri Bhagavan (bhagavad-anugat) and serves Sri Krishna and His beloved Srimati Radhika is truly a sadhu. Association with such a sadhu is the only most desirable thing for us, because only by such a divine association we can attain our supreme wealth and goal (pum-artho mahan). This wealth of Divine Love is our very lives. So in other words, such a pure sadhu is the life for all. No well-wisher greater than sadhu-guru-vaishnava, or the beloved associate of Sri Gaurasundara. It is only out of Srila Sripada Maharaja’skrupai I could hear and understand the messages of greatest value such as this. I didn’t only get the opportunity to hear from His Divine Grace, but also get his personal sangam, rarely achieve even by the devas. Similarly, I have the opportunity to enter the close association of his companions, his nija-jana, who love and fully serve him. This untouchable considers his self very fortunate, for without any properadhikaras, still His Divine Grace bestowed such a great success. There is no other reason for this other than the greatness of hisnirhetuka-krupai, causeless mercy. If so, how could I find protection and support other than to pray to Srila Sripada Maharaja’s lotus feet? Now, let me humbled myself down before him, clasp my hands and pray, as Srila Das Gosvami prayed to Srila Rupa Gosvami, the same prayer also rendered by my heart before Srila Sripada Maharaja.

“adadanas trunam dantair idam yace punah punah srimad-rupa-padambhoja-dhulih syam janma janmani, This fallen jivatma, standing here with a sheet of grass on his teeth and praying again and again so he may be able to get a particle of dust from Srimad Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada’s lotus feet, in every birth.” (Dana-keli-cintamani 175)

As Sri Bhagavata (11.26.26) states that no other way for a fallen one that allows him to get welfare, than throughsadhu-sanga, “tato duhsangam utsrjya satsu sajjeta buddhiman santa evasya chindanti mano-vyasangam uktibhih, really intelligent person should reject all kind of bad association and should instead always in the association of pure devotee of the Lord, whose words are able to cut bondage of over attachment in his mind”. Someone should conduct sat-sanga, and reject all types of asat-sanga, in other words, by the sharp words emanating from the lips of pure devotee of Sri Govinda, delusive mind in the form of lusty desires for worldly enjoyment were destroyed from the heart, without any rest. Thus, it is not possible to have any way to get mangalatva and bhagavat-priti, when someone abandoned such sadhu-sanga and sadhu-seva. In spite it is true that suchsadhu-sanga is so extremely rare, but it may not be for someone who prays for it without hypocrisy, with full sincerity, and with the knowledge that it’s very difficult to accept the association of a pure sadhu in this world ofasadhu.

By His unlimited love and compassion, Sri Bhagavan came to this world in order to give Hissanga, and He also sends His beloved devotees into the world. As we see in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. Knowing that is really difficult for a jiva could come across a sadhu, Krishna Himself appears as a sadhu and spiritual master in Nadiya. The presence of Sri Krishna Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu has filled this world with the greatest bliss. This Two Brothers dispel the darkness in the depth of our hearts, and thus they help one to find two types of Bhagavata. One of the Bhagavata is the immaculate literature Srimad Bhagavatam, and the other is the Living Bhagavata, pure devotee absorbed entirely in loving devotional service. Through the magnificent activities of this Two Bhagavata, The Supreme Lord instill spiritual loving mood in the heart of a jiva, and so The Lord, resides in the heart of His devotees, being controlled by their love.” (See Cc. Adi 1.87, Cc. Adi 1.98-100)

There are two types of Bhagavata, Holy Scripture (shastra) and the bhakta (devotee). They do kirtana, both glorify and praise the topics about Sri Bhagavan and his bhakta. Bhakta and Shastra, both of them is the only dear friend who expects welfare of jiva, so they are truly our life and soul. Those really intelligent ones always in search of truth and pure way of eternal goodness will not be able to live without the association of literature and sadhu. By taking firm vow they execute sadacara, deeds that lead to the truth, in the form of a rejection of the asat-sanga and vigorously seeksat-sanga. They are truly excited to be able to get the direct associationbhakta-bhagavata. When suchsadhu-sanga is not available then they associate with literature, shastriya-sanga. Only Hari-katha emanates from the lips of sadhu, hisshastra-katha,was able to attach us to the divine lotus feet of Sri Hari, Guru and Vaishnava. His words, messages, and instructions, is the sacred literature itself.

The conscious jivatmas, living human beings, cannot live without association twenty-four hours a day. When someone does not getsadhu-sanga, both externally and internally, then surely he will be forced to accept asat-sanga. So whenever we couldn’t get personal or direct sadhu-sangawith the bhagavata, then we should accept the association through shastra,shastriya sadhu-sanga. Only with such thoughts we will continuously fixed in Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur had said, “You should learn spiritual magazines with full attention. Whenever you have time, you should discuss Kalyana Kalpataru, Prarthana, Caitanya-caritamrita, and so forth. You will be able to achieve all perfections by chanting the holy name of God without offences. Sri Nama Prabhu only revealed to them who listen, learn, and discuss scripture. Your presentanartha will not so strong when you are diligently performing sravana andkirtana.”

We are totally blind about Krishna. Therefore, at the ancient time Srila Vedavyasa compiled Srimad Bhagavatam out of His love and compassion to all beings, only for their welfare. By discussing thisparamahamsa-samhita, Sri Grantharaja Bhagavata, bhakti toward Purusottama Krishna will grow and soon will drive out all types of mourning, delusion, and fear. For all jivas’ well being, the noblebhakta bhagavata was struggling with the difficulties of writing a very large body of literatures. They who really havePrititoward Sri Hari, Guru, and Vaishnava, certainly also have Priti toward the Holy Scriptures; they must be automatically havePriti to shastras.

Our beloved Guru-pada-padma, Srila Sripada Maharaja has given these two types of sat-sangato all of us. We do not always get the association of the living Bhagavata. It is a very great fortune for us to get the sweet direct physical association of Srila Sripada Maharaja, in really very short period during his prakrutha-lila. Indeed, it is only his mercy that makes everything possible, even if we do not have the proper qualification to attain it. In so many ways His Divine Grace has brought much happiness for us living in darkness. Heard his sweet voice, saw his spiritual form, and thought about his visit to Bali and the joy when we wait him at the airport. So he also allowed us to do different types of services and listen to hiskirtana during the day he is still in our midst. Once again only out of his mercy alone, we can have that beautiful and blissful time together.

Many of us, charmed by his spiritual personality and spotlessvaishnavatva, finally came to him. Some officially get initiation and some still live as followers, who always enthrone him in the core of their heart as their eternal spiritual master, since he was leaving them to enter into hisaprakrutha-lila. There is no time the spiritual master doesn’t present for his dear disciples. Since our physical material eyes couldn’t get hisdarshan anymore, we shouldn’t think our beloved Srila Sripada Maharaja has left us abandoned. He is ever present. The Omnipresent Supreme Lord isananta-kalyanaika-gunanidhi. The same Supreme Personality of Godhead is taking His abode eternally in Srila Sripada Maharaja’s lotus heart. So, our beloved Srila Sripada Maharaja is the divine abode of The Absolute Divinity,ananta-kalyana-guna-sad-dhama. Our Srila Sripada Maharaja is also omnipresent. He renders all services in unlimited divine forms in limitless transcendental pastimes of Srimati Radhika and Sri Gopaladeva.

He bestowed his shortdarshanto our eyes only to enter and resides in our heart eternally. Streams of tear from our cry of separation will manifest as the river of our love. Then the boat of our praying words will sail in its water by the wind of his unlimited divine mercy and compassion. Undoubtedly, it will end its voyage at Srila Sripada Maharaja’s lotus feet and his beloved Srimati Radhika and Sri Gopaladeva. This is my sole prayer. May when these eyes closed forever and can’t see anything anymore, when these ears will become deaf, when time will pound over this worthless body and it can’t stand anymore. When the end of this wretch person approaching. There is still just one drop of grace upon him. May I could hear Srila Sripada Maharaja’s voice of sweet kirtana of the glories of Sri Gaurangadeva and Srimati Radhika. May I could feel on my skin, the soothing breeze of wind emanates from Srila Sripada Maharaja’s eternal abode on the bank of Sri Radhakunda. May I could shed tears of joy out of my remembrance to my dear most Guru-pada-padma for the last time.

ha kvasi mat-prana-prabho kva gupto
ati dina-dasas tava duhkha-taptah
prapanna-bhaktartti-haras tvam eva
draksyami kim candra-mukham sakrt te?

O master of my life, where are you?
Where have you suddenly hidden?
Your most fallen servant is afflicted
by pangs of separation from you.
Only you can remove the sufferings
of your surrendered devotees.
Will I ever be able to look upon
your moonlike face again?

he dina-bandho! karunaika-sindho!
kuru prasadam mayi manda-mudhe
laksaparadhe bahu-papa-gadhe
tat-pada-padme ‘stu matis ca krsne

O friend of the lowly, O Gurudeva,
you are the vast ocean of mercy.
I am a dull fool and have committed
hundreds of thousands of offenses.
I have fallen into a dense myriad of sins;
therefore grace me with your mercy
so that my mind may be fixed
on your lotus feet and on Sri Krishna.

sri-bhakti-svarupa-damodaraya pujitam sarvam

rangaraja-dasa-kulena ati-vilapatmika-gadyam

viraha-soka-samudram sloka-candra-avirbhavam
srimad sripadad carana-kamala-dvandvarpanam

These glorifying words in combination of extremely sorrowful prose and moonlike stanzas arises from the miserable ocean of separation, was spoken by a member of Rangarajadasakulan, family lineage of servants of The Lord of Enchanting Stage, King of Palatial Aranga-mandiram, dedicated unto His Divine Grace Parampujyapadapadma Om Vishnupad Ashtottara-sata Paramahamsa Parivrajakacaryavarya Sri Srimad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Svami Srila Sripada Maharaja, as a humble offering to His Two Lotus like Divine Feet.
Even in his non-physical presence, he continued to bestow his mercy upon all of us. He still allows us to associate with his words, with the books he has written, his recorded voice of sweetkirtana and the mission he has left in this place for us to serve. He has given us everything. We inherit all these big things from him, and we are forever indebted to him. Thus, in this most blessed day of Srila Sripada Maharaja Vyasa Puja Mahotsava, we pray together in order to obtain his mercy again. May all of us, his disciples and his devotees, initiated or not, can be strengthened and made his instructions as our very life and soul and united together to serve his mission.

Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa Parivrajakacaryavarya Ashtottar-sata
Sri Srimad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Svami Maharaja Srila Sripada ki Jay!
Sad-bhakta Siromani Srila Sripada Maharaja ki Jay!

Denpasar, Bali 2009
Viraha-aksepa satata-vilapam
para-dina-hina-dasanudasam
sri guru-vaishnava karunya-bhiksum
Bhakta P.B. Rangarajan

Dear Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances.  All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to your on this most auspicious day of your Vyasapuja.

I remember Gurumaharaja inviting me to Manipur when I was in Mayapur with him.  He very much appreciated my trumpet playing in the kirtan.

One year I was in charge of organizing the kirtans in the morning of the Mayapur festival.  I was trying to book Maharaja for Mangal Arotik.  He was staying in the ashram in Navadwipa, so it was challenging to facilitate him to come to perform kirtan for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Madhava and the devotees.

Maharaja asked me if anyone had been booked for Mangal Arotik on Gaura Purnima.  I said no, and asked him if he would grace the occasion.  Maharaja mercifully agreed.  On the day of the blessed appearance of Lord Gauranga, Maharaja and a team of kirtaniyas from Manipur appeared in the temple like denizens of the spiritual world.  Maharaja sang so beautifully, that it melted the hearts of everyone.

After the prema dvani prayers (jaya om visnu pada…), there was some action of yoga maya (or my incompetence as organizer of the kirtans) and there was some confusion as to who would lead the Nrsimhadeva Arotik.  Maharaja was there to save me and he mercifully lead the Nrsimhadeva Arotik as well, to the great pleasure of all of the devotees present.

Maharaja arranged for my Manipur visa, no easy feat, because USA citizens like myself are not easily facilitated.  I arrived in Imphal just after the Mayapur Gaura Purnima Festival, and we began a daily Holi sankirtan festival.

The devotees had been expertly planning for months.  There was a bus and several cars, including one that Maharaja was riding in.  There was a map and every day around forty houses were selected in the same vicinity for harinama.  Approximately twenty houses received the harinama party before lunch and twenty after lunch.

Maharaja was a vibrant ball of energy, leading the devotees from house to house.  Upon reaching the traditional Manipuri home, devotees would bow down to the Tulasi plant in the center of the courtyard and begin to sing and dance, chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra.  After the kirtan came to a crescendo, the devotees would again bow down to Tulasi.  The hosts would bring out simple snack prasadam like bananas, apple slices, and sweet juices for the devotees.  One senior devotee would have a receipt book, and receive a donation for the new temple project.  The hosts would offer their respects to Maharaja, and he gracefully reciprocated with them.

On the fourth day of the Holi festival, we went to a beautiful home, high in the mountains.  There was a gorgeous temple of Jaganatha with an opulent and spacious kirtan mandap.  Here Maharaja personally sang the kirtan, and I had the feeling that I had left the material world, and entered in the spiritual world.  The atmosphere of the mountains, low clouds and mist, devotees swaying to and fro in the kirtan, and the auspicious darshan of Lord Jagannatha created a transcendental atmosphere.

I remember another time Maharaja had come to Mayapur with 108 drummers.  That drum exhibition created a power experience in my heart.  Later, when I was in Kumba Mela, Maharaja also arrived with the same team.  Daily we would all go for Harinama Sankirtan throughout the Kumba Mela.  Maharaja and Manipur Drummers would always create a musical and colorful spectacle, attracting large crowds of both visitors to the Kumba Mela, as well as all sorts of sadhus, local and otherwise.

On one of the big bathing days, I remember that for some time Maharaja was carrying our small murti of Srila Prabhupada, then the murti was passed into my care.  It was my greatest honor and pleasure to carry Srila Prabhupada, passed into my care by Maharaja.

May the instructions and memories of Maharaja, as well as his continued personal guidance to his sincere followers, continue to enthuse us our devotional service in the mission of his beloved Srila Prabhupada.

Begging for your mercy and compassion,

A speck of dust at your lotus feet,

Dasanudas, ekalavya das

(Sent By gopijana of www.Mayapur.com on Mon, 2009-09-28 17:33.

(Visuddha-sattva Prabhu who was working with Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja since about 1980 on the scientific preaching, particularly in pursuance of the instructions Prabhupada gave to Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja to gather up all our PhDs and present the Vedic Planetarium.)

Visuddha-sattva Prabhu: It is my honor to say a few words about my godbrother Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, with whom I had to the work very closely in the last thirty years. I know that it is not possible to glorify Vaisnavas in a short time, eight-ten minutes. I will try to do my best to some glorification of His Holiness Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja because I have very few things to say that nobody knows about his pastimes, even some confidential things about his departure.

As were saying Jayapataka Maharaja, Hrdayananda Maharaja, Sesa Prabhu, the qualities of Svarupa Damodara Maharaja as Vaisnava are very wonderful. He was a very special disciple of Srila Prabhupada. of course, Prabhupada, like all fathers, eternal well-wishers, he likes every disciple, but there are some special disciples who are more surrendered.

So Prabhupada through his instrument Svarupa Damodara Maharaja made this specific task to preach to the academic community against the atheistic theory that life comes from matter. So there was this conversation in Venice Beach between Srila Prabhupada and Svarupa Damodara Maharaja in the form of a book, everyone knows that book, “Life Comes From Life”.

By the arrangement of Krsna, they met each other under very special circumstances. I want to explain to Vaisnavas what is not well-known: how Srila Prabhupada met Svarupa Damodara Maharaja. He was preparing his thesis in physical organic chemistry in University of California in Irvine. His very close friend was Dr. Rao, also a PhD student. He was Indian. Maharaja was also Indian, from Manipur.

In fact, Maharaja was naisthika-brahmacari from birth. This is another quality that should be mentioned. Along with his gentleness, he was a perfect gentleman, very charming, very humble, very simple, at the same time very learned. This is the quality of Vaisnava, to be humble. He was PhD, but he was always very aware of his mission entrusted by Srila Prabhupada.

Hrdayanada Maharaja said Prabhupada made him a perfect instrument to be an ambassador for preaching to the academic community because Prabhupada knew that if we can defeat this materialistic tendency, because the scientists are the leaders, then the International Society for Krishna Consciousness will have credit. So Maharaja was acting in tune with Prabhupada to be his perfect instrument to defeat these, as Bhagavad-gita says:

mayayapahrta-jnana asurah bhavam asritah.

So Maharaja met Srila Prabhupada when he was a PhD student at the insistence of his friend Dr. Rao. It was in Los Angeles, “I want to go to see Srila Prabhupada.”

He insisted at different times that he go to see Srila Prabhupada, but he [Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja] said, “No, because I am very busy with my thesis.”

For one month again and again he insisted, his friend Rao. Finally, he said, “If you are not coming today, I won’t be your friend anymore.”

So Maharaja, at that time, said, “OK, I will go with you.” So he met Prabhupada.

As soon as he met Prabhupada, he knew that they are both scientists from Manipur and India, he said, “You are both coming to USA to steal scientific knowledge and to get money, but I gave to give a very valuable thing through this Krsna consciousness.” Those are the words that very much impressed Svarupa Damodara Maharaja. He became convinced in his heart. The rest is history.

I want to say a few words about his departure. I had the honor to work with him very closely. He was superior to me in many ways, but by his compassion, his mercy, as his disciples were saying, he was always showing a lot of compassion to everybody. He was the perfect ambassador of how to deal with the scientists, especially Nobel laureates.

Prabhupada’s message came through him because Prabhupada told him to establish BI, Bhkativedanta Institute, for this specific purpose of preaching to the academic community. Otherwise, they may not accept this wonderful movement as strong and understand consciousness. Prabhupada wanted him to play that role. I think that he accomplished this task very wonderfully.

I remember that I was in Bombay. I came to India in 1979. I was sankirtana leader in Caracas. I was working under the GBC, Hrdayananda Maharaja, at that time. I went to the BBT in Los Angeles. I met Svarupa Damodara Maharaja for the first time there. Svarupa Damodara was brahmacari. He was staying in the BBT apartment. I was very impressed, as with Gaura Govinda Maharaja, when I met him for the first time, with his humility.

He told me, “I know that you are mathematician doing research on Fifth Canto, so please you join BI.”

So I went to Bombay and joined. I was in Bombay for many years with other scientists, Madhava Puri, who has a PhD in quantum physics. So we were with Maharaja very closely. We traveled together to different places all over the world, conferences in San Francisco, Los Angeles. Here in India we had a special alliance with Professor George ?, a Nobel laureate in Bombay, and Nobel laureates in Delhi. I remember one All-Indian Science Conference in Delhi, there were three Nobel laureates, and a Nobel laureate in quantum physics also.

Anyway, Maharaja was empowered by Srila Prabhupada as a special disciple. As Sesa Prabhu was saying, his determination, even in the time of obstacles and impediments and disagreement, he was fixed in the determination to follow the instruction of his spiritual master. This is a very nice quality to remember in this memorial about his character. His personality was fixed.

For the last few years, I also had the honor to be very close with him. He was very intensely preaching here in India. Maharaja told me . . . . Maybe I can tell you, even about his departure.

During the Manipur blast, I was supposed to come to India in July. Then by arrangement of Krsna, the ticket never came. I complained to Krsna, “Why, Krsna, why?” In fact, Krsna is unbelievable. His plan is acintya. He had some plan for my humble self. So I could not come to Manipur, it was that blast. Bhojadeva was there. He was severely injured during the rasa-lila. It is Vaisnava state. Some criminal activity threw some grenade. It was big blast. Five local Manipuri devotees died. Almost forty-fifty devotees were injured. Bhojadeva Prabhu was one of them. He protected Maharaja so that he did not die. All these were signs together.

Maharaja told me very confidentially, “Maybe I don’t have more time left in this world. I am already sixty-one.”

I said, “Maharaja, what will happen to the Bhaktivedanta Institute because the disciples . . . . Who is going to continue this mission, vision of Srila Prabhupada, this legacy?”

He was saying, “Let’s see. Everything is in the hands of the Lord. We are insignificant. He should carry on the mission of Srila Prabhupada.”

With this very intensity, even in year 2006, we did Govardhana Parikrama together. He never did Govardhana Parikrama, but he did parikrama naked feet. Brijabasis told me, I spent many years in Vrindavan, “We respect Svarupa Damodara Maharaja because he has the qualities of a sadhu, titiksava karunika. He is very compassionate, very merciful, very charming person, also his smile.”

He was empowered by Srila Prabhupada how to deliver Krsna consciousness to that difficult academic community. In fact, he was the only disciple of Srila Prabhupada who wrote a book during the presence of His Divine Grace, “Scientific Basis of Krsna consciousness”. Prabhupada was very pleased. At that time, ’76, ’77, we had a conference in Vrindavan. Prabhupada was very pleased with him giving reports every day.

In the departure of Prabhupada, the antya-lila, final pastimes of His Divine Grace in Vrindavan, he also had close association, Svarupa Damodara. In fact, from one o’clock to three o’clock, he was nearby the bed of Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada told to him in Bengali. He told to me, “Prabhupada, told me in Bengali.” Maybe when we are going to pass away, we talk in our mother tongue. Of course, Prabhupada was transcendental. He came from the spiritual world to save us. He was an emissary of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, parama karuna. He was nearby the bed of Srila Prabhupada.

He was speaking many, many things only about Bhaktivedanta Institute. Prabhupada said, “Bhaktivedanta Institute is a more prestigious branch of ISKCON. If we can convince the scientists that will be for the glory of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.”

I want to say to finalize, I have many, many things to say about him. I was fortunate to get close association, intimate relation. Prabhupada made him GBC for life. One thing I learned from him is tolerance and humility. It may be easy to be humble, but it is very difficult to be tolerant. So the last year, the last two years, he was very disgusted, very sour from many misunderstandings, circumstances from his Godbrothers. He told me, “Anyway, I will be obedient to Prabhupada and I will be fixed in my determination to carry on that mission that Prabhupada instructed to me.”

So he was worrying about that conference in Puri, Jagannath Puri. He was the chairman. We organized a Second All-Indian Student Conference for Science. The first was held in Vrindavan after his Vyasa-puja in 2005. So this past December 9-10, we held that conference. I made a presentation on Vedic Cosmology in his honor.

Before that, in Vrindavan, I’ll just take one minute more because it’s important, about his departure. We say that Svarupa Damodara Maharaja died because of a massive heart attack, but it was not so. I will reveal for the first time in the presence of Radha-Madhava, asta-sakhis, and Vaisnavas what was the real departure.

I called him two days before. From Vrindavan, I called Calcutta. Some disciple told me that Guru Maharaja has high fever. So he was last recorded, his last address to the disciples, “Thank you very much for all the service you are doing for me and Prabhupada, etc.” But some perception came to my heart by the mercy of Prabhupada and Radha-Krsna that said that Maharaja wants to leave.

So that night, about ten o’clock, he was in his apartment in Bhaktivedanta Institute in Calcutta, M.P. Road. Maharaja woke up and complained about some pain in his left shoulder. He asked a disciple taking care of his publications, to bring some ice because the pain was going from his left shoulder to his fingers. Then suddenly Maharaja started breathing heavily with difficulty.

He asked for some massage, but he was waiting for the maha-rasa because after the Manipur blast, he was complaining, “My mind came to new spiritual world.” He was revealing, very confidential, I can tell you, I have perception also about that. Maharaja left this world because Prabhupada wanted to take him back for his nitya-lila service and Radha-Krsnacandra also wanted to have him back in the spiritual world. I had this perception by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. we said, for the practical sense, to the doctor, that he was passing away form a heart attack, to avoid making [unclear]. But in fact, by Krsna’s arrangement, he was waiting for the rasa-lila time, so he passed away at that moment.

Many things to say, but time is short. We don’t want to tie-up the Vaisnavas. We should take the wonderful example of this great disciple of Srila Prabhupada, scientist, Vaisnava from birth. He was in the line of Narottama dasa Thakura. He was Vaisnava from the very beginning. This is an example for all our ISKCON society, for disciples of [unclear], the wonderful qualities he had. We want to pray for his mercy.

We want to pray also to the lotus feet of the Vaisnavas and Srila Prabhupada to continue and put forward the legacy, the vision, the mission of Bhaktivedanta Institute that Srila Prabhupada entrusted to us.

Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja ki jai!

Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

from

http://mayapurlectures.blogspot.com/2007/02/memorial-program-for-hh-bhaktisvarupa.html

Hrdayananda Goswami: Hare Krsna.

I spent a good deal of time with Bhaktisvarupa Damodara in Los Angeles when he, I think not too long after, he began visiting the temple and taking those famous walks with Srila Prabhupada. I was present so I was on many of those walks.

Of course, we became friends. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara was, I was sannyasi then, he was of course a student at the University of California in Irvine. It is certainly true that his presence there inspired Prabhupada to speak on the famous topic of life comes from life.

One time, when I was relaxing in Los Angeles, I am from Los Angeles, I was born there, I was looking at the Vedabase, Prabhupada Vedabase, I looked up Los Angeles. I was curious what Prabhupada had to say about Los Angeles, the sacred place where I was born. I found that there were basically two main things that Prabhupada always said about Los Angeles: One is that he really liked the weather and two that he had a disciple who was becoming a scientist.

That was Thoudam Singh and he became initiated as Svarupa Damodara. Basically that is what Prabhupada had to say about Los Angeles, that he like the weather and there was this disciple there who was a scientist.

It was something new in a sense for the Hare Krsna movement. I think Sadaputa had been a scientist, but he concealed the fact and preferred to wash pots for a while. Actually, Svarupa Damodara was the first. It was the fist time a practicing scientist, a young man still getting his PhD, joined the Hare Krsna movement. He wasn’t just someone who had studied science and then got burnt out and joined the Hare Krsna movement, but he was actually involved in science, finishing his doctorate.

Not only that, but from Prabhupada’s point of view, because Svarupa Damodara, as we called him then, because he was from East India, of course from Manipur, but he studied in Calcutta University, as I just saw in this book here, Prabhupada could actually talk to him.

There was a sense in which Prabhupada, when he came to the West, his disciples were very enthusiastic, very devoted, and also we were quite immature and sort of awestruck by Prabhupada and also coming from often somewhat fallen backgrounds in the sense that before we met Prabhupada we had gone through a period of, well, non-Krsna consciousness, extreme non Krsna consciousness.

So all these factors including Prabhupada came externally even from a different culture. We didn’t know all that much about Indian culture, what to speak of Vedic culture. I personally observed, and Prabhupada said this himself actually, that when Prabhupada would be in the association of devotees who just on a regular external level understood the culture that he was coming from and he understood their culture, in a sense, it was a more mature, more natural relationship.

Spiritually of course, whoever was devoted to Prabhupada got his mercy. We’ve seen that many devotees from all parts of the world have received extraordinary mercy from Prabhupada and extraordinary empowerment. But if we allow Prabhupada to be a person as well as an icon, for all of us, even for preaching, even we are acting as guru, as sannyasi, it is nice to relax and talk to someone who actually understands what you mean.

That was the case with Svarupa Damodara. He provided that kind of pleasure of Srila Prabhupada. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita, yuktahara viharasya, there has to be, even in Krsna consciousness a bit of relaxation, there is a need for a certain minimum amount of comfort in order to be peaceful and do your service properly. Of course, like Prahlada, we can sometimes serve in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It is normal for any soul, for any person, to enjoy that kind of natural intimacy where people understand each other.

I think it was a combination of these two things, thinking in retrospect as a historian: the fact that Svarupa Damodara was not a burnt-out Westerner who had formerly studied science. He was a sober, non-sinful doctoral student studying science. He was from East India. He lived in Calcutta. He spoke Bengali. I think Prabhupada felt a natural affinity. Prabhupada was quite enthusiastic. Prabhupada had the vision to see that a whole new chapter for Krsna conscious preaching was possible. He definitely focused on Svarupa Damodara as the sort of pivot for that kind of preaching.

When Svarupa Damodara establishd the Bhaktivedanta Institute, so Svarupa Damodara had the distinction, or Bhaktisvarupa Damodara, had the distinction of not only dedicating his life to serving Prabhupada to the best of his ability but also for being Prabhupada’s special instrument to inaugurate in ISKCON an important new chapter of our missionary activities, and a chapter which we need to continue writing.

He was also a personal friend of mine. I’d like to say a few words about that. We were always friends. Whenever we would meet each other, we would joke a lot. You may find this hard to believe about me. But we had a very friendly relationship. He would always say the same thing, whenever he would see me and I would start joking with him, he would always say to me, “Your pastimes are inconceivable.”

Also, I think I should mention that Bhaktisvarupa Damodara was one of the great ambassadors in the history of ISKCON. Especially, in two ways, I think of two ways in which he was an extraordinary ambassador of ISKCON to the world. One way, I’ll start with one and go to the other because that’s the most important. he was, of course, born in Manipur and he was quite familiar with Manipuri culture. He used that ancient Manipuri culture, which in many ways was Vaisnava culture, to open many doors in the west. He brought the Manipuri troop, sword fighters, rasa-lila dancers, the martial artists.

I remember in Los Angeles, and I’m sure in other place as well, he booked this show in Los Angeles at hundreds and hundreds of high schools. So he did a tour of high schools in Los Angeles. He also presented programs at universities all over the west. So using this facility of his Manipuri heritage, he was able to open many doors and be an extraordinary ambassador of Krsna consciousness throughout the world.

And of course, an ambassador to the scientific word, he had the ability to be charming and to win the hearts of all kinds of scientists, Nobel laureates, people who usually do not come on a regular basis to their local Hare Krsna temple. He had a humble manner. He was really able to sort of get in any door. He was able to ingratiate himself and establish a rapport with all of these different scientists. And by the power of his own personality in Krsna consciousness, persuade them to, in some ways, interact with Krsna consciousness, to participate in various ways in Prabhupada’s mission, even if it was just giving advice or writing papers or putting their names on publications.

In this way, I think he is one of the greatest ambassadors that we have seen in ISKCON. Anyway, I am glad to be able to participate here in this literal memorial service in sense of memory establishing or engaging our memory a wonderful Vaisnava. All of us will have to leave this world. I hope no one is trying to stay here too long. In a sense, his final example of leaving the world in a very Krsna conscious way is another extraordinary example from his life.

Thank you very much. All glories to Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja!

http://mayapurlectures.blogspot.com/2007/02/memorial-program-for-hh-bhaktisvarupa.html

I think that all of us should realize the significance of the loss that we are experiencing by the departure of His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja. He was, and his relationship with His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was very, very special. It taught us a very, very special lesson about the relationship between Guru and disciple.

Srila Prabhupada was very, very fond of His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja. Of course, the spiritual master is very fond of all his disciples, that is not to be questioned, but sometimes we see a very, very special relationship that exists between the spiritual master and one of his disciples. In ordinary material life, such a special affection is the cause of envy for others, but in spiritual relationships, the matter is different.

Whatever pleases the Lord, whatever pleases the spiritual master is the life and soul of all the disciples, of all the devotees. So if one can be pushed forward that offers special pleasure to the spiritual master, that is everyone’s pleasure. In my mind, His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja had this type of a relationship with Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada would actually call for him, “Where is our scientist?” Whenever he wanted to have some fun debating about smashing the scientists, he always wanted His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja to be there. “What do they say?” he would always ask him, call him very affectionately.

Of course we know that Srila Prabhupada, his point in discussing the scientists and their belief system and how they’ve gained control in the world was more than just a mere joking session. It was a very, very key essential part of his preaching Krsna consciousness all over the world to destroy the hold, the grip that these materialistic scientists have on the minds and hearts of modern civilization.

Therefore, when he got a disciple like His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, who was a scientist, who was trained by them, who could understand their arguments, and who was so surrendered to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, he was very, very pleased by that.

He therefore called him, trained him, grilled him, provided all the instruction, all the support that he needed to be a key player in Srila Prabhupada’s plan to change this world. They had a very, very special relationship. And all of us whose life and soul it is to please His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada have lost something with the departure of His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja.

So the question now becomes, how do we go forward? This is more and more becoming the unfortunate task of those of us who remain behind as our beloved Godbrothers one by one depart to serve Srila Prabhupada in other places. Our task is to remain faithful to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, his mission, his vision, and to try to support that and participate in that mission in whatever way that we can.

Clearly, Srila Prabhupada wanted this materialistic science to be defeated. Clearly and very affectionately, he trained His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja to do that. Clearly, it is our duty to try to further that work which was so dear to both of them.

I know that during the last year of his presence with us here in this material world, His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja became more and more and more determined and fixed on the instructions, the very specific instructions, that Srila Prabhupada had given him about this type of scientific preaching. I had the great fortune to be involved in debate with him about such instructions. Of course, that is very insolent of me to feel that I can debate with my senior godbrother, sannyasi, but somehow or other, by Krsna’s arrangement, I was put in that situation. The great lesson I learned from that was that I should be so fixed to instructions given by Srila Prabhupada as Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja was fixed to the instruction given to him by Srila Prabhupada.

I think that none of us will be prepared at any time for such a wonderful Vaisnava to depart, but if we can separate ourselves from the feelings of anguish at his departure and we can look at it objectively–I don’t know that looking at it objectively is what we’d want to do, we’d rather look at it in a more heartfelt way–but if we did try to look at it objectively, if we could do that, we would have to say that he, no matter what the circumstances were, was fixed, irremovably fixed, at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and that such departure was indeed timely. Timely in the sense that he was so fixed.

We can only pray to Srila Prabhupada, Sri Sri Radha Madhava, that at the time we leave this world, we can be as fixed in the determination to serve Srila Prabhupada as His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja was when he left this mortal world.

Hare Krsna.

Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja ki jai!

taken from

http://mayapurlectures.blogspot.com/2007/02/memorial-program-for-hh-bhaktisvarupa.html

Devarsi Prabhu: So my name is Devarsi Das. I received initiation from Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja in 1992 in New Mayapur in France. The day that he gave me initiation, it was re-initiation for me, I asked him to come to the Padayatra in south of France. He accepted. Two-three days after, we were riding to south of France. At that time he had his cane, so it was a little difficult for him to walk on Padayatra. We had very simple accommodation. I invited him to stay in the room I was renting in the south of France. It was about eight meters square room. It was a place for one bed and one mat and a little kitchen. Actually, from the beginning he showed me what is simplicity. He accepted to stay in the bed where I was sleeping before and I was sleeping just on the mat. His simplicity was quite extraordinary. I have always seen this quality in him.

Since Jayapataka Maharaja spoke quite a lot about his different services in ISKCON and his scientific preaching, I may speak a little about different qualities that I have seen in him. One quality that impressed me a lot was his humility. He very often reminded me of this verse:

trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih.

He really exemplified this verse in his life.

I remember one time in Manipur, we were visiting one of his former teachers in a very small school. The teacher was about seventy-five, eighty years old. Immediately as soon as he saw his teacher, he paid full dandavats to his former teacher.

He was so tolerant about life because many of his disciples, including myself, we are not so qualified so we are making quite a lot of mistakes. Like a father, he was always guiding us and always helping us to develop tolerance. On time I asked him in Calcutta, I was also in the Congress in 1997, I asked what is possible to do for the French devotees. He said, “They need to be the tolerant, so maybe I can invite them all to come for five years to Calcutta to learn tolerance!”

He was very joyful, very humorous. Actually in my observation, he was really a perfect gentleman. I have never seen him really angry, even in some disaster. He showed me and he showed to us real Krsna consciousness. It was a question of consciousness. He was so busy working, serving his own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, and a huge toll to present Krsna consciousness to the scientific world. He very peacefully, with a lot of determination and a lot of joy, he was really working a lot, a lot, a lot. Calcutta was his place of work, really.

Prasada Prabhu at the end is going to tell us what was the last days in his life, how he was experiencing something quite special.

One day I was in Calcutta with him. I got the opportunity to get some books from BI and to go to Calcutta to distribute some books in Ultadanga, BI books. He was very pleased to see that it was possible, that people door to door, shop to shop were able to appreciate the books and took some books. He put a lot of emphasis in these books about Bhaktivedanta Institute, about this scientific preaching, about God is a person, about all these things.

Personally, I am quite inspired all that he has done in his life and also for me and also for many non-devotees I know. He has been able to touch the heart of many, many people, actually. Not in a big way like that, but in a very subtle and very deep and very profound way.

Now two days ago I was in Radha Kunda in his samadhi. If you want to know a little more about him, I can invite you to come to Radha Kunda to his samadhi in Gopaldeva Mandir because it was the place he really wanted to be. Although he never stayed there in Radha Kunda, it was the place that was the object of his meditation. You are most welcome to Gopaldeva Mandir in Radha Kunda.

Hare Krsna.

Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja ki jai!

http://mayapurlectures.blogspot.com/2007/02/memorial-program-for-hh-bhaktisvarupa.html

Jayapataka Swami: Every year, at the New Panihati festival in Atlanta, we have a Prabhupada lila-smarana festival of his visit there. Svarupa Damodara Maharaja was there when Prabhupada was there and he would come to this lila-smarana festival. So we heard from different devotees also how much Prabhupada showered his mercy up on him. There are pictures of him receiving Prabhupada at his car.

He was a VIP devotee. His special service was cultivating VIP’s, especially the scientists. We showed a number of his disciples in Bali and different parts of the world some slides we have of him. He also was a wonderful sadhu. It is rare to find probably scientists who are sadhus, but he was a super-wonderful sadhu because he was very gentle, very kind.

Once we did a Panihati festival in Prabhupada Desh. His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, I gave him the first pot of the cida-dadhi. He, normally you get a big pot of this cida-dadhi covered with rasagullas, sandesa, normally what you would do is eat it. But what did he do? He took it and offered it in the mouth of all the devotees. There are pictures of the devotees with their mouths open and he is like birds feeding their babies. He was putting the prasad in their mouth.

He had special tunes, maybe these are Manipuri melodies, he would sing. He reached a very high note. Sometimes we would raise his hand. He had a particular, I can’t imitate it, only he can do it. He would raise his hand and then reach this high note. Then he, changed the tune again sang a part of this particular tune.

Prabhupada, I remember that he said that, I heard, I didn’t see it in writing, but I heard that the Manipuris were somehow descended from the gandharavas. That is why they are such nice singers and dancers, very cultural. His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja was like that, he was a great kirtan leader, singer, wonderful Vaisnava.

Somehow he was very kind to me always. He invited me to his World Congress Conference for the Synthesis of Science and Religion, both the one in Bombay and the one in Calcutta. I was studying science when I was in university, but I dropped out and joined Prabhupada’s university. Prabhupada didn’t tell me to keep studying because I was only in my freshman year. So my sophomore year I spent in ISKCON, but Prabhupada had him finish his study and get his PhD and use it.

Somehow he brought me and I tried to do what service I could do discussing with the scientists. One of the Nobel prize scientists in Calcutta, he was the discoverer of the laser. This is how much influence Maharaja had on him, he said, “I came to this function where 20 years ago I would never come, I would never dream, I would say that someone is crazy that I would be sitting here, a scientist, physicist, with religionists discussing about science.”

But because the scientists, the physicists, at least, I can’t speak for the chemists, the physicist, he came, “As quantum mechanics, quantum theory, now we have gone beyond the classical physics. These little particles act like people. I was hearing from Maharaja how this is, the Vedas have knowledge about consciousness in a scientific way, so I’m here to hear about it, I’m here to discuss it.”

So in this way, Maharaja in his tenacious and humble way, he would go and discuss with different scientists and he would convince them to some degree, I don’t know how much, but they would definitely come to his conferences they were influenced. He would influence them to be open to read the Vedas, to read Prabhupada’s books, to come to the conferences. He was having a great impact.

He also was a member of the World Parliament of Religions. He never invited me for one of those, so I don’t know exactly what happened, maybe someone else could speak later. He was very versatile.

I remember one time I was walking with Prabhupada and Svarupa Damodara Maharaja, maybe it was in Bhubaneshwar somewhere, I can’t remember now, Svarupda Damodara Maharaja was saying, “If we can influence the scientists, they are the people who are most respected in the world day, everyone follows science.”

Prabhupada was saying, “Yes, if you can convince the scientists, we can change the world.”

I am a Namahatta preacher, I am trying to get to the masses, so I was saying, “Well, it is very hard to convince the scientists. If we can convince all the people, maybe they’ll be more selective about what they accept from the scientists.”

Prabhupada told me, “Yes, if you can get people to come up to the scientists and say, ‘I don’t believe your theory of Darwin,’ that will be a big thing.”

But then he would go and convince Svarupa Damodara. It was like some kind of a game Prabhupada was playing, but he won. Svarupa Damodara won. Convincing scientists was considered more. . . but I got some good encouragement also.

Svarupda Damodara Maharaja, we were together in many places, but he was able to do things pretty much on his own. Sometimes he would call for help, but generally that was just his mercy. He was a very capable person.

Prabhupada told him to make Manipur a Vaisnava state. It was already a Vaisnava state, but to revive it to its full glory. I had the opportunity to go to Manipur and see. They have what is called Vijaya Govinda deities.

Sometimes he would serve the GBC special Manipuri meals. It’s been a long time since that happened. But he would give this special, they have blue rice in Manipuri. Manipur is like seven mountain ranges. In the middle there are two big lakes. What are they called, the Duck Lake or something? The main flower of this lake is lotus, so lotus is one of the main dietary parts of Manipur. He would feed the GBC’s lotus stems and lotus preparations and this blue rice. Especially when you make the blue rice, it is a sweet rice. It tastes like blueberries. Like this, he was introducing so much culture.

He was so dedicated to Prabhupada. we were discussing that even in the last moments, he was just thinking, “How can I please Prabhupada?” He was completely dedicated to being in ISKCON and please Srila Prabhupada.

There is some, Prabhupada told him especially do this kind of cultivating of scientists. Svarupda Damodara told me how he had this program in Rome in some special hall where once a year all the top scientists get together and have some program. The mayor of Rome gave it to him to also have a program. They had a number of scientists and devotees speaking. It was so successful that the mayor said, “You can have it every year.” It is a very prestigious venue.

I think my time is up. I don’t know who is trained up to follow in his footsteps, who can do the wonderful service he was doing. We were all expecting him to be with us for twenty, thirty years more at least. It is a big loss for all of us. He was very dear to all the Vaisnavas.

His Divine Grace Svarupa Damodara Swami Maharaja ki jai!

taken from

http://mayapurlectures.blogspot.com/2007/02/memorial-program-for-hh-bhaktisvarupa.html

(1)
ananda-sac-cid-baladeva-murttih
brahmanda-sammandita-suddha-kirttih
samsara-sindhuttaranaika-potah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

His blissful, eternal and cognizant form is the embodiment

of Sri Baladeva, the akhanda-guru-tattva.

His immaculate supra-mundane fame has adorned the universe,

and he is the boat to deliver all living beings from samsara,

the ocean of material existence.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Rupa rohaninya yang kekal, mahasadar, dan penuh kebahagiaan, adalah merupakan pengejawantahan dari Sri Baladeva, sang akhanda-guru-tattva. Kemuliaan adiduniawinya yang tiada bernoda menghiasi alam semesta. Beliau adalah perahu yang menyelamatkan semua insan dari samudera samsara. Oh akankah hamba akan memperoleh darsana kedua belah kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja yang mahaindah itu lagi?

(2)
pratapta-camikara-gaura-rupah
sad-bhakti-svarupa-vicara-bhupah
parivrajakacarya-paramahamsavaryah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

His form is beautifully fair like molten gold,

he is the monarch of analyzing and discerning the real nature of pure bhakti,

and he is one of the best among highest enlightened personality

and preaching spiritual masters.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Rupanya begitu indah secemerlang emas cair, beliau adalah rajanya dalam menganalisa dan menyimpulkan sifat sejati dari pengabdian suci. Beliau adalah salah satu yang terbaik di antara pribadi-pribadi yang memiliki pencerahan sempurna dan para guru yang mengajar berkeliling. Oh akankah hamba akan memperoleh darsana kedua belah kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja yang mahaindah itu lagi?

(3)
vaisnava-gosthi-gana-prana-bandhuh
prapanna-duhkhartta-prasada-sindhuh
vitandi-pasandi-dambha-darpa-haranah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

He is the friend who revives the lives of the Lord’s devotees.

He is an ocean of mercy to surrendered souls, who are afflicted by material miseries,

and he is a destroyer of pride and arrogances for the sophists who indulge in unreasonable, irrational arguments – the so-called followers of religion – and for the atheistic scientist.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Beliau adalah sahabat yang mengembalikan gelora kehidupan para penyembah Tuhan. Beliau adalah samudera belas kasih bagi para jiva yang menyerahkan diri, yang disiksa oleh duka derita keduniawian, dan beliau adalah penghancur kesombongan dan keangkuhan orang-orang modern yang sibuk hanya dalam memperdebatkan argumen-argumen yang tidak masuk akal, yaitu mereka yang namanya saja umat pengikut suatu agama dan juga para ilmuwan yang tak percaya akan Tuhan. Oh akankah hamba akan memperoleh darsana kedua belah kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja yang mahaindah itu lagi?

(4)
sri-radhika-prema-tadaga-hamso
hamsa-vira-prajna-kulavatamsah
sankirttana-prema-madhu-pramattah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

He is a swan swimming in the pond of Srimati Radhika’s prema,

and he is the crest jewel within the dynasties of paramahamsas,

the brave-class ksatriyas and scholars.

He is intoxicated by the sweetness of the prema-nama-sankirtana –

the universal broadcasting of Sri Caitanya’s message of prema.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Beliau bagaikan seekor angsa yang berenang-renang dalam telaga cintakasih Srimati Radharani. Beliau adalah permata mutu manikam dalam keluarga besar para paramahamsa, ksatriya yang pemberani, dan para sarjana. Beliau dimabukkan oleh manisnya prema dari nama sankirtana, yaitu penyebarluasan semesta amanat cintakasih Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Oh akankah hamba akan memperoleh darsana kedua belah kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja yang mahaindah itu lagi?

(5)
candala-sudradhama-bhakti-samdah
sarvvam sahavandya-padaravindah
premabdhi-candro bhajana-dru-kandah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

He offered the auspicious blessing of bhakti to those who took lower births,

such as sudras and candalas, and his lotus feet are worshipable for the whole world. Appearing like the moon he made the ocean of prema swell,

and indeed, he is the root of the tree of our bhajana.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Beliau menganugerahkan berkat bhakti yang mahasuci kepada mereka yang berkelahiran rendah seperti sudra dan candala, dan kaki padmanya layak dipuja oleh seluruh dunia. Terbit bagaikan rembulan, beliau membuat air samudera prema menjadi pasang, dan sesungguhnyalah beliau merupakan akar dari bhajana kita.

(6)
gauranga-govinda-varenya-bhakto
visuddha-sad-dharma-pracara-raktah
radha-yaso-gana-sahasra-vaktrah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

He is the most exalted nitya-siddha associate of Sri Gauranga and Sri Govinda,

and he is always deeply attached to the preaching of pure vaisnava-dharma

that is free from the coverings of jnana and karma.

As if he possessed a thousand mouths he would speak the glories of Sri Radhika.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Beliau adalah rekan nitya-siddha Sri Gauranga dan Sri Govinda yang termulia, beliau senantiasa khusuk dalam mewejangkan vaisnava-dharma yang murni, bebas sepenuhnya dari selubung jnana dan karma. Tampaknya bila saja beliau memiliki ribuan mulut, beliau akan menggunakannya hanya untuk membicarakan kemuliaan Sri Radhika. Oh akankah hamba akan memperoleh darsana kedua belah kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja yang mahaindah itu lagi?

(7)
veda-vedanta-nava-vaijnana-dakso
vikhandita-prajna-kutarka-laksah
santa-prasantoparatatma-nisthah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

He is fully expert in all Veda-sastras, Vedanta, and also modern scientific knowledge.

With his divine wisdom he would easily smash the multitude of faulty conclusions

presented by deluded logicians and mundane scholars.

He is calm and equitable, self-satisfied,

detached from sense pleasure and fixed in his service to Sri Sri Radha-Govinda.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Beliau ahli dalam Veda-sastra, Vedanta, dan juga ilmu pengetahuan masa kini. Dengan kebijaksanaan rohaninya beliau dengan mudah dapat menghantam kesimpulan-kesimpulan salah yang dihadirkan oleh para pemikir yang berkhayal dan para sarjana duniawi. Beliau senantiasa tenang, damai, dan berpuas hati, terlepas dari segala kenikmatan duniawi dan teguh dalam pelayanannya kepada Sri Sri Radha Govinda. Oh akankah hamba akan memperoleh darsana kedua belah kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja yang mahaindah itu lagi?

(8)
hareh katha-yata-samasta-yamo
romanca-kampasru mudabhiramah
srimad-radha-kunda-vasa-yatnah
pasyema kim tam srimad sripada-padam?

He would spend all eight yamas (divisions of the day) glorifying topics of Sri Hari,

and thus he would become overwhelmed by the manifestation of asta-sattvika transformations headed by hairs standing erect, trembling, and tears of joy.

He would become extremely happy

when he resided in the most beautiful Sri Radha Kunda.

Will I ever again have darsana of the most beautiful lotus feet of that Srila Sripada Maharaja?

Beliau menghabiskan kedelapan yama dalam memuliakan Sri Hari, dengan demikian beliau luruh dalam bentuk-bentuk perubahan asta-sattvika terutama roma merinding, gemetaran, dan mencucurkan airmata sukacita. Beliau begitu bahagia ketika bersemayam di Sri Radha Kunda yang mahaindah. Oh akankah hamba akan memperoleh darsana kedua belah kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja yang mahaindah itu lagi?

(9)
ha kvasi mat-prana-prabho kva gupto
ati dina-dasas tava duhkha-taptah
prapanna-bhaktartti-haras tvam eva
draksyami kim candra-mukham sakrt te?

O master of my life, where are you? Where have you suddenly hidden?

Your most fallen servant is afflicted by pangs of separation from you.

Only you can remove the sufferings of your surrendered devotees.

Will I ever be able to look upon your moonlike face again?

Tuan bagi hidupku di manakah Engkau? Ke manakah engkau tiba-tiba bersembunyi? Hambamu yang paling hina ini tersiksa oleh derita perpisahan dengan dirimu. Hanya engkau saja yang dapat menyingkirkan penderitaan para hambamu yang menyerahkan diri ini. Akankah hamba dapat melihat wajahmu yang bagaikan rembulan itu lagi?

(10)
he dina-bandho! karunaika-sindho!
kuru prasadam mayi manda-mudhe
laksaparadhe bahu-papa-gadhe
tat-pada-padme ‘stu matis ca krsne

O friend of the lowly, O Gurudeva, you are the vast ocean of mercy.

I am a dull fool and have committed hundreds of thousands of offenses.

I have fallen into a dense myriad of sins; therefore grace me with your mercy

so that my mind may be fixed on your lotus feet and on Sri Krishna.

Wahai sahabat bagi mereka yang hina, oh Gurudeva, engkau adalah samudera belas kasih yang mahaluas. Hamba hanyalah seorang yang bodoh dungu dan telah melakukan ratusan ribu kesalahan. Hamba telah terjatuh dalam kelamnya dosa-dosa. Karena itu berkatilah hamba ini dengan karuniamu, agar pikiran hamba dapat senantiasa terpusat hanya pada kaki padmamu dan Tuhan Yang Maha Esa Sri Krishna.

sri-bhakti-svarupa-damodaraya pujitam sarvam

rangaraja-dasa-kulena ati-vilapatmika-dasakam

viraha-soka-samudram sloka-candra-avirbhavam

srimad sripadad carana-kamala-dvandvarpanam

These all glorifying words in ten extremely sorrowful moonlike stanzas arises from the miserable ocean of separation, was spoken (as based on beautiful prayer called Prabhupada Viraha Dasakam) by a member of Rangarajadasakulan, family lineage of servants of The Lord of Enchanting Stage, King of Palatial Aranga-mandiram, dedicated unto His Divine Grace Parampujyapadapadma Om Vishnupad Ashtottara-sata Paramahamsa Parivrajakacaryavarya Sri Srimad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Svami Srila Sripada Maharaja, as a humble offering to His Two Lotus like Divine Feet.

Segala kata-kata pujian ini yang tersusun atas sepuluh bait syair mengharukan, terbit dari samudera derita kerinduan yang tak tertahankan, digubah oleh seorang hamba yang begitu rendah dan hina yang terlahir dalam keluarga para hamba pelayan Tuhan Atas Panggung Yang Mempesona, Sang Raja yang bertahta di istana Aranga-mandiram (Sri Ranganatha), diperuntukkan hanyalah bagi Yang Mahaberkarunia Parampujyapadapadma Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa Parivrajakacaryavarya Sri Srimad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Svami Srila Sripada Maharaja, sebagai sebuah persembahan yang remeh, ke hadapan kedua belah kaki sucinya yang bagaikan kembang seroja.

virahaaksepa satata-vilapam

para-dina-hina-dasanudasam

sri guru-vaishnava karunya-bhiksum

(the lowest servant of servants,

who always crying and lamenting in separation,

a beggar of Sri Gurudeva and all Vaishnavas mercy)
Dasan B.P.B. Rangarajan

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya

caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah

Hamba bersujud dengan hormat kepada Sang Guru Kerohanian, yang telah membuka mata hamba yang sudah dibutakan oleh kelamnya kebodohan, dengan pelita ilmu pengetahuan.

nama om vishnupadaya krishna-presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktisvarupa damodara svamin iti namine

Hamba bersujud dengan hormat kepada Sri Srimad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Svami Srila Sripada Maharaja, yang sebaik kaki padma Tuhan Yang Maha Esa Sri Vishnu Sendiri, dan yang sangat dicintai oleh Sri Krishna di bumi ini.

nama sad-bhakta-manaye manipura-udbhavaya ca

prabhupada lasad-vani pracara niratayate

Sembah sujud hamba kepada Srila Sripada Maharaja. Permata para hamba Tuhan sejati, yang muncul di Negeri Manipura. Beliau sangatlah bersemangat dalam mengajarkan amanat Srila Prabhupada ke seluruh dunia ini

babhruvahana-vamsadbhi somaya subha drstye

sunyavadi madebhendra singhaya bhagavata namah

Sembah sujud hamba kepada Srila Sripada Maharaja, yang hadir sebagai rembulan bercahaya, terbit dari tengah samudera dinasti Babhruvahan, yang pandangan matanya memberikan segala kemujuran. Beliau bagaikan singa perkasa yang menaklukkan gajah gila paham atheistik sunyavadi.

abhayadi gunadaya sad-vijnana ghanaya ca

navya vaijnana tamas suryaya te namah

Sembah sujud hamba kepada Srila Sripada Maharaja, sang pemilik sifat-sifat kesucian paling utama seperti tiadanya ketakutan dsb. Beliau bagaikan awan hujan yang penuh berisi air ilmu pengetahuan tentang Yang Mahamutlak. Beliau adalah matahari cemerlang yang mengusir kegelapan dari ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi modern.

Sebagaimana kita senantiasa berdoa kepada kaki padma Srimati Radhika Ji dengan mengucapkan Sri Radha Kripa-kataksa Stavaraja, memohon Beliau menjatuhkan pandangan-Nya yang penuh karunia kepada kita, maka dengan ini kita patutlah bersyukur karena doa-doa ini telah terjawab dengan kehadiran Sri Guru-pada-padma kita tercinta Om Vishnupad Astottara-sata Parampujyapadapadma Paramahamsa Parivrajakacaryavarya Sri Srimad  Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Srila Sripada Maharaja di tengah-tengah kehidupan kita. Beliau adalah Permata Para Hamba Tuhan yang Murni (sad-bhakta siromani) yang oleh belas kasihnya turun ke bumi ini di Negeri Permata, Manipura, demi kesejahteraan seluruh dunia. Maka dari itu saya mempersembahkan segala pujian kepada beliau yang adalah nayantara, bintang kemilauan dari mata padma Sri Radha, yang adalah segala-galanya bagi Sri Krishna. Perkenankanlah saya bersujud kepada beliau yang dikasihi Sri Krishna, pribadi agung yang merupakan rekan kekal Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu dan Sri Sri Radha Krishna, dan yang adalah merupakan satu-satunya sahabat, tempat berlindung, serta kehidupan roh-roh yang jatuh sebagaimana diri saya ini. Segala pujian kepada Srila Sripada Maharaja Gurudeva, pembimbing kita yang kekal, junjungan hati yang senantiasa kita muliakan, juru selamat bagi para roh yang menderita, yang mahaberkarunia, dan samudera belas kasih yang tiada batasnya. Segala pujian kepada permata yang memenuhi segala keinginan itu (cintamani svarupa), rekan terdekat Sri Gaura dan Sri Radhika (gaura-radhe nija jana), yang dihiasi segala sifat kemuliaan seorang Vaishnava tanpa noda, yang tiada pernah melihat keburukan maupun kesalahan orang lain (adosa-darsi), dan yang merupakan sahabat terbaik bagi insan-insan hina (dina-bandhu). Semoga beliau berkenan senantiasa menjatuhkan pandangannya yang penuh karunia kepada kita semua. Oleh kemuliaan sifat-sifat agungnya itu, semoga beliau berkenan memaafkan kesalahan-kesalahan dari pendosa besar seperti diri saya, dengan demikian mengijinkan saya turut mendapat kesempatan melayaninya secara kekal. Inilah satu-satunya keinginan dan doa yang senantiasa saya panjatkan ke hadirat kaki padma beliau yang mahasuci.

Saya adalah seorang yang dungu, buta, dan berada dalam kejatuhannya. Saya tidak tahu, tidak pula berusaha untuk mengetahui, apakah yang saleh dan tidak saleh. Walau demikian Srila Sripada Maharaja telah datang dari Goloka untuk membantu saya. Hatinya terbeban berat melihat sifat penentangan yang dimiliki oleh jiva ini, tergerak menjamah dan menolongnya, kemudian setelah itu beliau kembali ke tempat kediamannya yang sejati dan kekal. Beliaulah yang dengan penuh belas kasih membuat orang keras hati seperti saya ini dapat menyadari bahwa tiada sesuatupun yang lebih berharga daripada sadhu-sanga di seluruh alam semesta ini. Tiada cara lain demi mendapatkan karunia dan pelayanan kepada Sri Bhagavan selain melalui sadhu-seva dan sadhu-kripa. Yang Mahaberkarunia sendiri juga telah datang untuk memberikan pergaulannya yang begitu manis kepada saya, walaupun dalam masa-masa berharga yang amat sangat singkat.

Hanyalah mereka yang sepenuhnya mengabdikan diri kepada Sri Bhagavan (bhagavadanugat) dan secara khusus menyerahkan diri dan melayani Sri Krishna beserta Srimati Radhika-Nya tercinta adalah yang sungguh-sungguh seorang sadhu. Pergaulan dengan para sadhu yang demikian itu adalah hal satu-satunya yang amat sangat kita idamkan, karena hanya dengannya harta kekayaan yang mahatinggi dapat kita capai. Dengan kata lain hanyalah sadhu sejati semacam inilah yang merupakan kehidupan bagi semua orang. Tak seorangpun merupakan sahabat sejati dan pengharap kesejahteraan kita yang melebihi sadhu-guru-vaishnava, atau para bhakta terkasih Sri Gaurasundara. Hanyalah berkat kemurahan hati Srila Sripada Maharaja saya dapat mendengar dan mengetahui amanat suci yang berharga seperti ini. Saya tidak saja mendapat kesempatan mendengar dari Yang Mahaberkarunia, namun juga turut dalam pergaulannya, yang bahkan amat sangat sulit sekali dicapai oleh para deva. Begitu pula saya memperoleh kesempatan memasuki pergaulan para rekan dekatnya, para nija-jana beliau, yang mencintai dan melayani beliau dengan sepenuh-penuhnya. Hanya dengan inilah seorang yang hina dina seperti diri saya ini memungkinkan mendapat keberhasilan. Bila demikian, dapatkah saya menemukan perlindungan dan dukungan selain dengan cara berdoa kepada kaki padma Srila Sripada Maharaja? Saya kini, bersujud di hadapannya, mengatupkan tangan dan berdoa, sebagaimana Srila Das Gosvami berdoa kepada kaki padma Srila Rupa Gosvami, doa yang demikian juga terpanjat dari hati saya ke hadapan Srila Sripada Maharaja.

adadanas trnam dantair idam yace punah punah
srimad-rupa-padambhoja-dhulih syam janma janmani

“Jivatma yang jatuh ini, berdiri di sini dengan selembar ilalang pada giginya dan berulang-ulang memohon agar dia mampu mendapatkan sebutir debu dari kaki padma Srimad Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, dalam setiap kelahirannya.” (Dana-keli-cintamani 175)

Sebagaimana Sri Bhagavata (11.26.26) menyatakan bahwa tiada suatu jalanpun yang memungkinkan seorang insan yang jatuh dapat memperoleh kesejahteraannya, selain melalui sadhu-sanga,

tato duhsangam utsrjya
satsu sajjeta buddhiman
santa evasya chindanti
mano-vyasangam uktibhih

“Orang yang sungguh-sungguh cerdas hendaknya menolak segala macam pergaulan yang buruk dan sebagai gantinya heruslah dia berada dalam pergaulan para penyembah Tuhan yang suci, yang kata-katanya mampu memotong keterikatan yang berlebih-lebihan dalam pikirannya.’

Seseorang hendaknya melaksanakan sat-sanga dan menolak segala jenis asat-sanga, dengan kata lain, oleh kata-kata tajam yang memancar dari bibir padma para hamba Tuhan yang murni, angan-angan pikiran yang tersembunyi dalam bentuk nafsu keinginan bagi kenikmatan duniawi dimusnahkan dari hati, tanpa sisa untuk selama-lamanya. Karena itu tidaklah dimungkinkan adanya jalan untuk mencapai mangalatva dan bhagavat-priti, apabila seseorang tidak mempedulikan sadhu-sanga dan sadhu-seva seperti itu. Walaupun benar bahwa sadhu-sanga yang demikian amat sangat langka, namun bukannya tidak mungkin diperoleh bagi seseorang yang berdoa memohonnya tanpa kemunafikan, dengan penuh ketulusan, dan dengan pengetahuan bahwa memang sungguh sulit menerima pergaulan seorang sadhu sejati dalam dunia para asadhu ini.

Oleh belas kasih-Nya yang tiada terbatas, Sri Bhagavan turun ke dunia ini demi memberikan sanga-Nya, dan Beliau juga mengirimkan, mengutus para penyembah-Nya yang tercinta ke dalam dunia. Kita lihat dalam Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,

sadhu paiya kasta bada jivera janiya
sadhu-guru rupe krsna aila nadiya

“Mengetahui bahwa sungguh sulit bagi seorang jiva dapat datang kepada sadhu, Krishna Sendiri muncul sebagai seorang sadhu dan guru di Nadiya.”(Cc. Adi 1.87)

sri-krsna-caitanya ara prabhu nityananda
yanhara prakase sarva jagat ananda

“Kehadiran Sri Krishna Caitanya dan Prabhu Nityananda telah mengisi dunia ini dengan kesukacitaan yang mahabesar.”

dui bhai hrdayera ksali’ andhakara
dui bhagavata-sange karana saksatkara

“Dua Bersaudara ini mengusir kegelapan yang menguasai lubuk hati, dan dengan demikian Mereka membantu seseorang menemui dua jenis Bhagavata.”

eka bhagavata bada—bhagavata-sastra
ara bhagavata—bhakta bhakti-rasa-patra

“Salah satu Bhagavata adalah sastra suci agung yang tiada bernoda Srimad Bhagavatam, dan yang satunya lagi adalah Sang Bhagavata Hidup, penyembah murni yang sepenuhnya terserap dalam pelayanan pengabdian suci cintakasih.”

dui bhagavata dvara diya bhakti-rasa
tanhara hrdaye tanra preme haya vasa

“Melalui kegiatan-kegiatan agung Dua Bhagavata ini, Tuhan menanamkan rasa pengabdian cintakasih rohani dalam hati seorang jiva, dan dengan demikian Tuhan, bertahta dalam hati para hamba-Nya, dikendalikan oleh cintakasih mereka.” (Cc. Adi 1.98-100)

Ada dua jenis Bhagavata, sastra (kitab suci) dan bhakta (penyembah). Keduanya melaksanakan kirtana, keduanya memuliakan dan memuji pokok-pokok pembicaraan tentang Sri Bhagavan dan para bhakta-Nya. Sastra dan bhakta, keduanya adalah satu-satunya sahabat karib yang mengharapkan kesejahteraan para jiva, dengan demikian merekalah yang sungguh-sungguh merupakan nyawa kehidupan bagi sang jiva. Mereka yang benar-benar cerdas, yang senantiasa berada dalam pencarian akan kebenaran sejati dan jalan kebaikan kekal, tidak akan dapat hidup tanpa pergaulan dengan sastra maupun sadhu. Dengan memegang sumpah yang teguh mereka menjalankan sadacara, perbuatan-perbuatan yang mengarah pada kebenaran, dalam bentuk penolakan terhadap asat-sanga dan dengan penuh semangat mencari sat-sanga. Mereka sungguh bersemangat untuk bisa mendapatkan pergaulan bhakta-bhagavata. Bila sadhu-sanga semacam itu tidak tersedia maka mereka bergaul dengan sastra, sastriya-sanga.

Hari-katha yang memancar dari bibir padma sadhu, sastra-kathanya, inilah satu-satunya yang mampu menarik hati kita kepada kaki padma Hari, Guru dan Vaishnava. Kata-kata, amanat, dan perintah sucinya, adalah merupakan sastra suci itu sendiri.

Jivatma yang sadar, insan yang hidup, tidak dapat hidup tanpa pergaulan selama duapuluh empat jam. Bila seseorang tidak mendapatkan sadhu-sanga, baik secara eksternal maupun secara internal, maka pastilah dia akan terpaksa menerima asat-sanga. Maka kapanpun sadhu-sanga secara pribadi dengan para bhagavata tidak kita dapatkan, maka hendaknya kita menerima pergaulan melalui sastra tanpa terputus, sastriya sadhu-sanga. Hanya dengan demikian pikiran kita akan diteguhkan dalam Krishna secara terus-menerus.

Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur pernah berkata, “Hendaknya engkau dengan penuh perhatian mempelajari majalah-majalah rohani. Kapanpun ada waktu engkau harus mendiskusikan Kalyana Kalpataru, Prarthana, Caitanya-caritamrita, dan sebagainya. Engkau akan dapat mencapai segala kesempurnaan dengan mengucapkan nama suci Tuhan tanpa kesalahan. Sri Nama Prabhu hanyalah mengungkapkan Diri-Nya kepada mereka yang mendengar, mempelajari, dan mendiskusikan sastra. Anartha yang kini engkau miliki tidak akan seberapa kuat bila engkau tekun dalam melaksanakan sravana dan kirtana.”

Kita samasekali buta tentang Krishna. Oleh karena itu dahulu kala Srila Vedavyasa menyusun Srimad Bhagavatam oleh belas kasihnya terhadap semua makhluk, demi memberikan kesejahteraan bagi mereka semua. Dengan mendiskusikan paramahamsa-samhita ini, Sri Grantharaja Bhagavata, bhakti kepada Purusottama Krishna akan segera bertumbuh dan mengusir segala jenis ratap tangis, khayalan, dan ketakutan. Demi kesejahteraan para jiva, bhakta-bhakta yang mulia telah dengan susah payah dan kesulitan yang sangat besar menulis sastra-sastra. Mereka yang sungguh memiliki priti terhadap Hari, Guru, dan Vaishnava, pastilah juga memiliki priti terhadap sastra, secara otomatis pasti memiliki priti terhadap sastra.

Guru-pada-padma kita tercinta Srila Sripada Maharaja telah memberikan kedua jenis sat-sanga ini kepada kita semua. Kita tidak selalu mendapatkan pergaulan dari Bhagavata yang hidup. Adalah keberuntungan yang mahabesar bagi kita mendapatkan pergaulan yang begitu manis dari Srila Sripada Maharaja, yang sungguh sangat singkat selama masa lila beliau yang terwujud secara fisik. Sesungguhnya itu adalah merupakan kemurahan hati dan karunianya yang tiada bersebab, yang menjadikan segalanya mungkin, walaupun kita tidak memiliki kepantasan yang seharusnya.

Dalam berbagai cara Yang Mahaberkarunia telah membawa kebahagiaan yang begitu besar dalam hidup kita yang kelam. Dengan mendengar suaranya yang manis, memandang rupa rohaninya, memikirkan akan kedatangannya ke Bali, dan semangat ketika kita menyambutnya di bandara. Begitu pula beliau mengijinkan kita melakukan berbagai jenis pelayanan dan mendengarkan hari kirtananya selama beliau berada di tengah-tengah kita. Adalah berkat kemurahan hatinya semata kita dapat melalui saat-saat yang indah dan berbahagia itu bersama-sama.

Banyak dari kita, terpesona oleh kepribadian rohaninya yang tanpa noda dan vaishnavatvanya, akhirnya datang kepada beliau. Beberapa mendapat inisiasi secara resmi dan beberapa tetap tinggal sebagai pengikut-pengikutnya, yang menempatkan beliau dalam lubuk hatinya terdalam sebagai guru-pada-padma mereka yang kekal, karena beliau telah meninggalkan mereka ini untuk memasuki  aprakrita-lilanya.

Bahkan dalam ketidakhadirannya secara fisik beliau masih tetap memberikan karunianya kepada kita semua. Beliau mengijinkan kita tetap bergaul dengan kata-katanya, dengan buku-buku yang telah beliau tulis, melalui rekaman suaranya yang manis dan yang terutama adalah misi beliau yang belum terselesaikan di tempat ini untuk kita layani bersama-sama. Beliau sudah memberikan kita segalanya. Kita mewarisi semua hal-hal besar ini dari beliau, dan untuk selamanya kita berhutang untuk itu.

Maka pada hari yang terberkati ini, Srila Sripada Maharaja Vyasa Puja Mahotsava, kita berdoa bersama-sama demi memperoleh karunianya sekali lagi. Semoga kita semua, murid-murid dan pelayan beliau, yang diinisiasi maupun yang tidak, dapat bersatu dan dikuatkan bersama untuk melayani misi beliau dan menjadikan amanat rohani dan perintahnya sebagai nyawa dan kehidupan kita untuk selama-lamanya.

Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa Parivrajakacaryavarya Astottar-shata Sri Srimad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Svami Maharaja Srila Sripada ki Jay!

Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Svami Srila Sripada Maharaja ki Jay!

Sad-bhakta Siromani Srila Sripada Maharaja ki Jay!

Denpasar, Bali 2009

ami ati dina hina jana

sri guru-vaishnava kripa-prarthi

BHAKTA BEN