Srila Gour Govinda Swami Thakura, 1978
We set out from Bhubaneswara early, taking bicycle rickshaw to the bus station. While waiting to board, Gour Govinda Swami explained to me the qualities of certain round white sweet balls which I had noted, displayed behind glass cases there. "These are a specialty of Bhubaneswara", he explained, "They cook sugar with cardamon, camphor, ghee, and black pepper, until it is well done and very hard. Very tasty, very sweet !" He smiled with an exclamation. Maharajah did not eat many sweets, or very rarely, neither did we have them about the ashrama much, and we had no taste for sweets shopping that early .
When I moved into the ashrama from Canada, after a while, I started to purchase ocasional white-cardboard boxes of milk-sweets, in town. It was too much to ask to live so frugally, essentially, and not spend any money on at least some occasional milk products, I thought to myself. For a Western devotee, though used to Iskcon austerity, this was too much like the old days in New Vrndavana, in fact, more austere, if that was possible! Soon, we started offering some pieces to Gour Nitai almost every day, at Gaura artik, and/or some hot milk. That prasadam helped us with better bodily strength.
Next time through the Bus station though, I tried these odd local specialities, and later prepared them for Lord Jaggannatha in Montreal Radha Manohara mandira. Apparently, it is somewhat of an acquired taste! - though I liked them well enough. "Milk cake" is more the healthy Bhubaneswara local specialty, and sweet dahi, yogurt, in brown clay cups.
The buses were old style, wooden slat bound the windows, some with glass in them. They audibly revved up when they set out, and the exhaust was dark gray and less than saintly smelling. The wooden seats were adequate, for about an hour, after which one starts to shift around, and after a day on such a bus, one is ready to sprawl out on the floor even just to get away from holding one's neck up against the constant shaking and bumping. ITC, India Transit Corp. But they were on time, and often packed with travellers, with so many trunks piled on the roof rack, tossed up or off by off-white-attired dark skinned wiry men with the strength of country farm-hands. Luggage was then tied against unforeseen holes or humps in the holy pot-holed hi-ways.
We quietly chanted our rounds as the bus set off for Jagannathpur, not the famous Shankha-ksetra, Jagannatha Puri, but a much smaller village, still within the limits of the dhama, as is Bhubaneswara, gateway of the dhama. As a rule, devotees of Bhubaneswara temple were seen and heard to be chanting when not otherwise engaged. We constantly chanted, or worked towards that. Anyway, this was Maharajah's home Deity's village, an old village of kirtaniyas and Caitanya bhaktas. This rural village turned out to be Maharajah's home town, as I learned later.
Among the fields of the countryside, Gopaljiu resided for generations, a Blackish Krishna Deity Whose pastimes were famous in Orissa. They were almost all Rupa-nuga Vaisnavas, as well as a few Buddhists, in this area. Gour Govinda's family were reputed and much appreciated kirtaniyas, enthusiasts of Harinama sankirtana, following the traditions from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's followers. He had himself learned sastra and Deity worship at a very young age, exactly like Srila Prabhupada had, albeit, in a more rural and Oriyan setting.
At one stop, not understanding the schedule, I wandered off to buy a dob, a green coconut to drink, and when I got back, Maharajah informed me in a mildy amused yet urgent voice, that I had held up the bus while they were waiting for me, and he had to stop them from leaving. I felt a little embarrassed, something easy for me. Gour Govinda was our resident renunciant-family head-member, and though we all respected him so highly and would rather die than serve unfavorably or offend him, yet he never made us feel unsure of ourselves around him, we always felt safe and secure and protected, like not even a nuclear bomb couldn't touch us, as Maharajah was present. He would just laugh in his beautiful and boisterous chuckling way, and say " What can be done? You understand? Chant Hare Krishna! "
Anyway, that"s me, I'm afraid, sometimes stupidly causing some kind of minor scene, it seems, while trying to live as inconspicuous as is possible for a white person while wearing a saffron dhoti and sandals in India. At the time, for me, it was a perfect and inspiring life of purity and growing enthusiasm for chanting.
Actually,we were a staunch and rather pure brahmacaries at the time, if you pardon my saying so. Even other renunciants, such as devotees visiting from Bombay or New York,would comment such as "How do you manage to stay here?" referring to the simple austerity of our sitting on floor in our little hut, a very rural lifestyle in the middle of nowhere near Bhubaneswara . Perhaps they had responsibilities which burdened them in their home opulent city temples, and could not realize as much as we the true freedom and sweetness of simple Krsna conscious renunciation in Srila Prabhupada's seva. We were for sure Vrndavana as opposed to Mathura Puri!
Arriving at the station next to Jagannathpur in about three hours, there was a bit of a hike, a ride on a bullock cart, and soon enough we reached the village. The elders and many villagers greeted Maharajah, some with great joy and some with tears in their eyes. We were led to a clean cottage, and there we camped out.
Next morning, as I am a migraine sufferer, I was doing a few basic hatha manoevers to maintain chi flow or whatever it was that worked so well, and some local Vaisnava boys were laughing to see a bhakta doing hatha. But Maharajah scolded them, saying, "No, you should not laugh. This is very healthy. These excercises are very good. " Thus, he set an example that we should do the Vedic things necessary for health. He later told me not to eat or drink much water for at least an hour before doing hatha, and not for three hours afterwards, to get the full benefits, that people do yoga, but they do not follow properly, therefore there is no real benefits for them, in this Kali yuga time. "Therefore, we recommend simply chant Hare Krishna." He also explained that eating three nim leaves and not eating after five o'clock would help one stay disease free. He alos extolled drinking water before bed, so that when one woke up early to pass water, one then could stay up and chant.
There was a large gathering at the local school. They all wanted to hear me speak! It was mortifying, as I was just a young brahmacary, and here was a Mahabhagavata sannyasi, and they wanted me. So alright, understandable, they wished to see what I was about, so I wowed them with some well-known slokas and thus impressed them all, then Maharajah spoke, mostly in Oriya. As ever, he pointed out clearly Lord Krsna's words and the importance of following Srila Prabhupada. As ever, I could follow his slokas and see the sincerity and would listen to every word because it purified one even if one did not know exactly the Oriya language.
Years later, Swayambhu Maharajah, my dear old-time ex-Buddhist now pure Iskcon Bhubaneswara Vaisnava friend was giving a class, in Oriya, which I do not know. Yet, an initiated disciple of Gour Govinda Swami now, He is so pure and venerable, that I just sat and listened chanting softly, as it was purifying to hear him also, just because the mood of pure devotion and the auspiciousness of the revered company was worth full attention. Swayambhu was impressed by this, and pointed this out to the assembly of devotees, that enthusiasm to hear, even one could not understand, I think he used me as an example of some kind.
I remembered how Srila Prabhupada spoke of enthusiasm to hear Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, and that this was a particularlry good quality noted by the Master, and so I emulated, but in this case, it was spontaneous, not practised, as Bhubanaeswara is home for many wonderful and pure devotees. These are refined and simple subtle persons, not quite like we often uncivilized Winnipeg-types, either in dhoti or pants.
Please listen to him lecture, as beneath;
Tamohara dasa, 1974
After the sanga, we all sat in rows on the packed-earth courtyard, surrounded by low earthwork cottages with thatched roofs and painted white, light green, and some a pale blue. Palm trees waved gently, and soon prasadam of rice and dahl and red tomato chutney with puris was served on green banana leaves.We enjoyed in a festive mood. I noted that no one touched their food until Maharajah did, and no one left until he finished eating. I really relished this roots-level culture of humans, Vaisnava humans, and learned better respect for elders and social cohesion thereby, and also noticed how it was pleasing and satisfying to the Self to know how to be a Vaisnava human.
I had just earlier met Svayambu prabhu, who at the time had recently converted to Vaisnavism from Buddhism by grace of Gour Govinda's preaching. Sitting next to me, he pointed out a black haired lady sitting to the back, "See that mataji," he asked?, "That is GGs's widow.'
Later, I learned through Swayambhu that GGS had two sons, and "Prabhu, would I please arrange for them to go to the gurukula in Mayapura? The widow has not got the ability to care for these boys nicely." This we did by contacting Jayapataka Swami, and all was arranged for this. Maharajah apparently then left behind two sons not that old enough or with households of their own, to pursue Krsna in his mission, making sacrifice of his earthly family for all of our sakes. Maharajah never mentioned them or any of this, he did not spend his words talking of old family matters.
Upon departure, I had one case of Bhagavata Darshana, maybe 100 magazines. Standing in the pathway, near the bus station, I called out, "Bhagavata Darshana! donna ek rupiya ! " The case was gone as fast as I could hand them out and take in rupees.
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Partial Transcript of Lecture ;
Gour Ggovinda Swami Thakura; lila purusottama, Krishna, prema puruottama, Mahaprabhu
bhakta priyo si me!
confidential instructions to Arjuna, for all mankind! Most confidential is; sarva dharman parityaja ...mam ,
also ...priyo si me, become my devotee, end of ninth chapter "think of me day and night, and with Me in mind, become my bjhakta, servant, loving service, not ordinary service. Service based on pure love. What is meant by that?
Huh? Yes? Krishna is only to be served , only object, we have to render in allways loving service; na janam na sundaim kavitam jadaisa kamaye; i am your servant i will rendr service unto your lotus feet, but i ask for nothing material in exchange. No wealth, no followerd material, no beautiful women, no liberation isnt it??
ONLY life after life i will serve you and give you pleasure, i ask nothing for me. That is loving service, in exchange nothing to ask for. ...
janamani janmanisvare, life after life i will serve you lotus feet and giv u pleasure, i will ask nothing for me.
Mahaprabhu has this saranagati, last instruction most confidential, just surrender unto Me ! this is strong pure love. woithout pure love you cannot surrender. True surrender is 24 hours , example is gopis, the example. Pure love. no lust in that no tinge. Mana mnasak, SB says
who is like this? Day and night 24 hours they are thinking of Krsna. Bcause they have developped pure love for krsihna. Stupid mind cannot think of, like animal, cannot think of Krishna. As long as you have not deleopped love for Krsna, you cannot be released form the bonds of matter. ghost demon life, human life. Human life is meant to develop Krsna prema. That is the success and goal of human life, supreme objective. bhagavatam says, as long as no love for Vasudeva, u cannot be free from samsara bondage, condtional soul conditional faith condtional soul.
Is your mind even thniking of Krsna? Stupid mind is thinking of his wife? Stupid mind thinking of human wife? Not thinking of Krsna ! Man mana bhava mad bhakta! put krsna in your mind.
....thinking of daughter, friend not thinking of krsna. Ggopis day and night thinking of Krsna.
Is it one sided love? Can you love a dog , an ass, love a cat? Haha!
Krsna is the only object of love! Krsna will also think of you day and night!! Two sides of life, you follow??
Objective and subjective love. If you think of Him 24 hours, Krsna will think of you 24 hours. you understand ?