English
12 May 2024
HH Krsna Chaitanaya Swami Maharaj
Glories of HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj
It has been a very difficult week for all of us. We have been suffering from the disappearance of HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj. We are feeling the pain of his disciples that are suffering from the loss of the physical presence of their guru Maharaj. We are praying that we can all stay together as ISKCON family members and continue serving the Srila Prabhupad’s mission together. At the same time we have been blessed with the wonderful opportunity to hear the glories of HH Krsna Goswami Maharaj and that has been very purifying on our parts. And this is very nourishing for our spiritual lives. So our mouth should always be filled with the glories of the devotees. On this day I will also say a few words trying to glorify HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj. Today is also the appearance day, Vyas Puja of HH Kadamb Kanan Maharaj. Here I am staying in Australia and devotees are having a big celebration, they are celebrating the vyas puja. I agree with the devotees in Australia that I would come online and glorify HH Kadamb Kanan Swami Maharaj. So at the same time I am speaking, I am on my laptop and will join the Zoom meeting to share the glories of HH Kadamb Kanan Maharaj at the Vyas puja celebration.
It is very important to glorify the devotees. Lord Chaitanaya said that when we glorify devotees, it’s like nectar and when we blaspheme devotees it is like poison. So we should always fill our mouths with the glories of the devotees, that’s the nectar that will neutralize the poison that we may have spoken of blaspheme of the devotees. And we see an example of this in the life of wonderful Srila Prabhupad’s disciples Jai Nandan Thakur. Jai Nandan Prabhu whenever he heard anyone criticizing or blaspheme any devotee he would immediately leave that place. We should take his example. Because if someone is criticizing a devotee and we are also hearing that then we also become implicated in the aparadha. How can somebody speak blaspheme if he has no one to talk to. So in this way if we give someone an opportunity we also become implicated in the aparadha. We should take every opportunity to glorify the devotees.
When a devotee disappears from this world like HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj has disappeared, it’s an opportunity for us to glorify him. And when a devotee appears in this world, that is also an opportunity to glorify him. So today is the most auspicious appearance day of HH Kadamb Kanan Maharaj. Kadamb Kanan Maharaj is a very dear disciple of HH Jai Advait Swami Maharaj, a very beloved and grand disciple of Srila Prabhupada.
And now we are also addressing the devotees here in Australia, there is a joint another zoom group. They have physically gathered together and celebrating the Vyas puja of HH Kadamb Kanan Swami Maharaj.
I meet first Kadamb Kanan Maharaj when he was a Krsna Balrama temple president. He was doing Gaura aarti, he was chanting for three hours from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm every Sunday with the gurukul boys. He will be covered with sweat and perspiration. He will just be shining with wonderful effulgence and smiling happily. And he would say I have sing for two hours just to get warmed up to start to sing. So this was one of the qualities of HH Kadamb Kanan Maharaj that I most appreciated with his taste for kirtan, enthusiasm for kirtan, powerful kirtan that would knock the heart of all the devotees. When I was a Bhakti Vaibhav student in Mayapur, Maharaj took all the bhakta vaibhav students on a parikarma and we went to Mayapur modadrumdwipa. We had a wonderful kirtan for more than one hour. Everyone was dancing and jumping and flying there.
Another time after Maharaj has taken sanyasa, I was traveling with HH Lok Nath Swami Maharaj and we met Maharaj in Paris. He was so serious about chanting his japa that he woke up at 1 o’clock in the morning before traveling because he said “I don’t like to chant japa when I travel therefore I have to chant all my japa before I have to leave for my journey”.
When I was a sanyasa candidate, Maharaj was on the sanyasa committee, he said that “because you stay at Chowpati in Bombay for two years, it means you are very serious. So I am going to give you my recommendation”. He inspired me and persuaded me for sanyasa.
The last time I met Maharaj, it was in kartik in Vrindavan, just before he was leaving his body. We were sitting together for Srimad Bhagvatam class and HH Jai Advait Swami was giving the class. At the end Maharaj asked “are there any questions?” and I had a question but then I was a little shy. Then HH Kadamb Kanan Maharaj said “don’t be shy, ask your question”. In this way I gained the understanding that we should be bold – preaching boldly and practicing boldly, sincerely and strongly. The last time I met Maharaj he was doing kirtan at the MVT kirtan-mela in Vrindavan. After the kirtan we got together and he shared with me that ... He was persuading me to preach in New York City. Because New York City is a very dear project of Kadamb Kanan Maharaj. On his Vyasa puja I offered the prayers that he can empower me with his enthusiasm to practice and preach Krsna consciousness. HH Kadamb Kanan Swami Maharaj ki Jai…Sila Prabhupad ki Jai…I thank you those devotees in Australia.
Now I am back to Zoom temple, where I will speak of my memories and the glories of HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj. I came to India in 1992 in Delhi, East of Kailash, I was staying with guru Maharaj. At that time the New Delhi temple construction had not yet started. I was going for morning program every day in the temple and HH Gopal Krsna Maharaj was there many times. I received a lot of spiritual encouragement and enthusiasm from him. He used to chant his japa session very enthusiastically. He would walk back and forth from one end of the room into another and chanting strongly and very loudly like a lion. In those days I used to chant Harinam sankirtan with my kartals, walking to the temple and then back to our ashram and Gopal Krsna Maharaj said “very good, keep it up, keep it up”.
In 2000’s I had a chance to do some seva with Maharaj with some presentations. We co-presented two presentations. One was ICC (ISKCON India Continental Committee) presentation about the GBC resolutions. I met Maharaj in his room in the Delhi temple and we sat together. We decided how we would share the presentation. We took some prasadam together and then we made the presentation together. Maharaj is a very strong presenter; he is very enthusiastic and he is very focused. The second presentation we made was in Mayapur, we both attended one course. The leadership course (the spiritual leadership course in ISKCON). This course is compulsory for all gurus in ISKCON. Even though he was alredy very experienced guru, Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj decided that I will take this course. That is how we were batch mates. The teacher said to divide all the students into teams of two each. He and I were teamed together. We had to make one topic about spiritual life and we sat together almost one hour for preparing the presentation. I felt so fortunate because it is difficult to get one hour with Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj without the phone ringing. And when we made the presentation Maharaj was the leader and he presented most of it and I presented some of it.
Around 2016, I was sitting in East of Kailash temple chanting my japa, Gopal Krsna Maharaj called me and said “Why don’t you take sanyasa”. He said “You like to travel, you like to preach, you should take sanyasa” So I said “I don’t know if I am qualified” He said “You should do it”. So he was the first senior devotee to encourage me to take sanyasa. If he had not come up to me that day, maybe I would not be a sanyasi today. So I owe it to you that - HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj.
As guru Maharaj mentioned this morning, they were very close – friends, brothers, buddies. They did the service together for more than 14 years. HH Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj gave guru Maharaj the greatest gifts. He gave him wonderful services; he made him temple president in Delhi. He made him regional secretary in Maharashtra.
In the accomplishments of Gopal Krsna Maharaj, his scores are just incredible – 18 temples in Delhi, he was instrumental in helping guru Maharaj complete the Noida temple. He was a BBT trustee, he did so much book distribution – Delhi’s book distribution is incredible and book publishing. He made so many devotees. He really encouraged book distribution. One time a devotee told me that he would go and book distribution to a big factory. HH Gopal Krsna Goswami would go any time, 24 hrs. If a devotee called him “Guru Maharaj please preach this person to take books, he is in a big factory, they can take thousands of books” then Gopal Krsna Maharaj would come, get up any time, go and facilitate the book distribution. Any time, any place any situation Gopal Krsna was always ready for prachar.
I am here in Australia, the devotees here just got a new land to build new temple after so many years. As devotees soke to Gopal Krsna Maharaj a few months ago. Gopal Krsna Maharaj said “Would you like me to come to Australia and help you with the fund raising”. This is when Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj could barely walk and barely move and he was so enthusiastic to assist the devotees around the world to preach Krsna consciousness. So we are praying at the lotus feet of Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj that we too can get some drop of the mercy, of the enthusiasm that he has for spreading Krsna Consciousness. And we also pray to his disciples, followers, friends, well wishers that we can be of some service to them. If there is any service that we can do for them, please let us know and we are eager to serve them with all compassion.
I have made something of Jai Lila Prem Dhan that I would like to share and then conclude today’s session.
