Thomas Garden When i first met Srila Gour Govinda, 1976 ish, he would not even preach before Western devotees, considering us as his Guru, he said. He was thinking himself the most fallen, unfit to speak to others much. He was on an utthama platform, but when we persistently insisted on his preaching, he started to gradually act like a perfect ghostianandi for doing his duty. His perfect humble character comes out in his pure pukka first class Oriya Vaisnava soft-hearted scientifically perfect and non-demonic katha and pastimes. Example; He refused to sit on a seat for Sunday lecture. I had a cushion made, and it took three tries to get him to sit, and he only accepted when I said it is good for the villagers to see this proper respect, they will listen better. Then he accepted. He was not an ordinary person, believe me. But very lovable, like Gopal ! 1978 ish, Bhubaneswara.
He almost always cried for at least one of the morning kirtana. In attendance were Vaisnava dasa, little Sanat Kumara and sometimes Sooji, aged five ish , Bhagavata Prabhu, myself, Lagudi dasa prabhu, Brajanatha, sometimes local villagers or a visitor. We also had a laugh almost every day in kirtan, saying Brahma samhita, and laughing at Oriya rolled "r"s pronounced extra hard by the local brahmacaries... lol! SGGS ignored our silliness. that was funny too.
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We walked bullock cart sankirtan from Prayaga after attending maha kumbha mela with Srila Prabhupada. Lokanatha Swami led, party of eight or so, mixed Westerners and Indians. Padmapani was there, myself, and the famous film producer Jon Kay. We arrived in Varanasi without knowing the 500th anniversary of Mahaprabhu's visit. There were even processions in the street of Caitanya murthi. We did kirtan, wound up the rich metal seller's markets narrow avenues to the Srila Visvanatha Temple, and were very nicely and happily greeted, were asked to touch the Deity Linga, Srila Visvanatha, held kirtana hari haraya namah krsna, hare krsna maha mantra etc, priest put tilak and prasadam to us etc. 500 years to the day, Mahaprabhu's mixed disciples showed up to do kirtana just as He had ! We stayed at Ram ghat at a Ram baba temple that evening, full eclipse of moon, and we bathed in Ganga that early evening. I watched the silver blue moon and eclipse sitting at the steps of the ghat with the devotees, chanting Hare Krsna.
We went on from there to Puri and Mayapura for Gaura Purnima and second initiation, fire yagya with Srila Prabhupada, kirtan with Srila Prabhupada ringing the big bell, and a Solar eclipse. More later...
On Friday, February 21, 2020, 8:09:59 p.m. CST, Mohini Cox <mohinicox@gmail.com> wrote:
om namah shivaya namo visvanathaya
In Puri, 1976, Padmapani and i were japa walking early in the morning, and chanced upon the ancient Lokanatha Shiva mandira. We visited briefly, but were chased away by mud-clod throwing kids. That Sivartri evening, we got lost coming home, and ended up visiting a Shiva mandira with a full 3-d Kirishna-style form moorthi, of a gorgeous blueish Lord Shiva, and nicely decorated lit-up Temple, and were greeted very happily by the Priest there. We felt as if Lord Shiva had blessed us after being chased by foolish persons that morning ! Living in India, one soon becomes aware that Lord Shiva is as real as Lord Vishnu !
Hope all have a Krsna conscious Siva ratri. Lord Shiva is most favorably inclined to the Hare Krsna devotees, being very kind and topmost among Vaisnavas. Many thanks to Mahadeva for helping us in our lives ! He does so much service, is a perfect example of absorption in Krsna consciousness.
'nayam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahuna śrutena
yam evaişa vrnute tena labyas
tasyaişa ātmā vivrinute tanūm svām'
"The Supreme Self can never be known by any amount of argument, reasoning, intelligence, or by much hearing. To those whom He chooses, however, He may reveal His personal form."
(Katha Upanişad 1.2.23) "One who cries for Krishna, Paramātmā knows: Then Paramātmā assumes a body and appears, both within and without. When He appears externally, He is Guru, vivrinute tanūm svām,... tanū means body. He assumes a body and is known as caittya-guru. Therefore I say cry, cry, cry. Paramātmā will know, "Now he's crying for Me." In this regard, sādhu-sanga is most important. And that means sādhu in the true sense, not a hypocrite sādhu, not a bogus sādhu, a real sādhu.*Guru means heavy, not laghu. These words have their meanings and you should understand them. If you really meet guru, then your association with laghus will be bitter, That's a most important thing. That's the test who is guru.
*"Laghu" means material things. You are associating with material poets, material politicians, materially
wealthy persons, and materially learned persons. They are laghus.
When you associate with a sādhu and
get his kripā, then automatically the taste will be bitter and you will no longer like to associate with laghus.
You should associate with a real sādhu.
*Sādhu-kripā, the mercy of sādhu is powerful. It is a most important
thing. It is said, 'vaishnava-krpaye tare sarva-siddhi,'...if you can get the mercy of a Vaishnava sādhu then you will achieve all perfection. Moreover, it must be with a real sādhu, sādhu in the true sense of the term. Not a hypocrite or bogus sādhu or kali-cela! They are only posing like sādhu.
*If a genuine sādhu casts his merciful glance on you, then you have it! Sādhu-sanga is most important, most important, most important. One should develop greed for such a type of sādhu-sanga. Don't resist such greed. You are greedy for material accumulations. That is your enemy. That will lead you to hell. Now become greedy for this, to have such
sādhu-sanga. "How can I get, how can I get?" Develop this greed. It should not be resisted. It is the only thing needed.
rila Gour Govinda Swami:
*Then one doubt or question may arise here. How will this relationship be maintained if the guru disappears, leaves this planet -before the śisya leaves, or if the śisya leaves first? It is happening sometimes that the śisya disappears while the guru is still there.
So, how will it be that this relationship is maintained?
That may be one's question or doubt.
*In answer to this, it is said that the
guru-tattva and the guru-sevaka-tattva (guru-sevaka means one who serves the guru, i.e. the śisya) are not temporary, it is eternal tattva.
Externally, or in this material world, we see that the guru disappears before the śisya or that the śisya disappears first, still Krishna's yogamāyā-śakti acts won-
derfully. She can act in a very wonderful way. 'aghatana saghatana pattiyasi.' She is expert in presenting things in a very wonderful way and so, she keeps
that relationship intact. She makes the arrangements.
*When the sad-guru or Śrī guru, who is an eternal associate of the Lord, disappears, he enters into
the nitya-līlā of the Lord, that means he goes to the abode of Krishna. But he has taken up the responsibility of accepting disciples, and if he has not rejected his disciple he is still responsible for taking him to
the lotus feet of Krishna, that means
to take him to the abode of Krishna.
That is the guru's responsibility.
And as we speak of sad-guru,
similarly, there is sat-śisya. As it is very difficult to find a sad-guru, it is
similarly difficult to find a sat-śisya.
*Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda–
a very powerful Vaishnava, such a powerful Vaishnava cannot be found these days, he has said on the eve just prior to his departure from this planet, when he called all his disciples, that,
"Nobody is my disciple!"
So, why has he said like that?
He said,
"Because nobody has accepted my direction and followed it as it is."
They had all twisted it and acted in their own whimsical way. Therefore,
he has said, "Nobody is my disciple!"
He says it, who is such a powerful Vaishnava. Then what to speak of others or us? So, it is said that as it is very difficult to find a sad guru, similarly, it is very difficult to find a sat-śisya.
*So, for one who is a sat-śisya, the guru who has taken up that responsibility but he has disappeared from this planet first, before the disciple has, that means he has gone to the nitya-dhāma, the eternal abode of Krishna -still, from there he keeps an eye on his sat-śişya. And he is very powerful.
He is the manifestation of the caittya-guru, or Paramātmā who is there in the heart. So, from that abode of Krishna, that sad-guru inculcates potency in the heart of
the sat-śisya, and thereby
he attracts him.
*Suppose that in the meantime the śisya has also left his body. He may be in the same body or he may have left his body -accepting another body taking birth in some other place, that also happens- still, in whatever body
he may be, the sad-guru who is there
in the nitya-dhāma keeps an eye
on his sat-śisya.
*So, it is not impossible on the part of the sad-guru to attract his sat-śisya and take him to the abode of Krishna. The śisya may have accepted another body, taking birth in some other land, still the guru knows it and sees him. He will empower a Vaishnava, or sādhu, who is there nearby, and through him he teaches. In that way he takes care.
And if it is required, the guru himself comes down to impart tattva-jñãna,
transcendental knowledge, to give him śiksā and diksā. In this way the relationship is kept up.
*In conclusion it may be said that it is all done by the yogamāyā-śakti of the Lord. Yogamāyā does all these things and thus she maintains the eternal relationship between the sad-guru and the sat-śişya. And therefore we say, 'cakhu-dān dilo jei, janme janme prabhu sei.'
"This is the tattva."