Offering on Srila Gurudeva’s Vyasa Puja–2007 | Soquel, California, USA

_English

Offering on Srila Gurudeva’s Vyasa Puja–2007 | Soquel

_{(2007. Soquel, California, USA)}

[gurvvābhīṣṭa-]supūrakaṁ guru-gaṇair āśīṣa-saṁbhūṣitaṁ
chintyāchintya-samasta-veda-nipuṇaṁ śrī-rūpa-panthānugam
govindābhidham ujjvalaṁ vara-tanuṁ bhakty anvitaṁ sundaraṁ
vande viśva-guruñ cha divya-bhagavat-premṇo hi bīja-pradam

[“His Guru’s most cherished wishes, he’s truly fulfilling, adorned with his guru-varga’s affectionate blessing. In knowledge both conceivable and inconceivable, His expertise illumines the ontological whole.

He’s the foremost follower of Śrī Rūpa’s divine aim, Śrī Bhakti Sundar Govinda is his celebrated name. His beautiful figure stands out, clean, clear and effulgent, devotionally endowed with transcendent sentiment. I worship him, the world-wide Guru from high above, the empowered bestower of the seed of Divine Love.”]

#00:00:19#

Voice-over: The following is a presentation of the Vyasa Puja celebration for His Divine Grace held in Soquel, California. This version is simply for the pleasure of His Divine Grace and will later be edited more completely for preaching purposes.

#00:00:36#

[Janardan Maharaj with devotees sing “Sri Guru Arati”.]

#00:01:39#

Janardan Maharaj: So, we’re happy to be here today this morning for the observation and the celebration of the divine appearance day of our most beloved spiritual master Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. He recently was with us in Soquel and this year was very special. Not just myself but I talked with many of the devotees where everyone was very happy and considered it was the most beautiful festival that we’ve had in this ashram, you know. So many times, Srila Govinda Maharaj has come here to Soquel and this time in particular by some, you know, the hard work of the devotees, the divine will of the Lord and Srila Govinda Maharaj’s special benedictions and blessings upon us everything went very, very beautifully.

#00:02:40#

Shrutashrava Prabhu: Many, many days come on our Vaishnav calendar to help us remember things but for us no day is as special as this particular day, this is the top most special day for us. And we began by reciting the pranam-mantra of His Divine Grace and that pranam-mantra is very special because we’re not qualified. Sripad Janardan Maharaj has just mentioned, you know, what can we say about a transcendental personality if we’re not transcendental. And I’m certainly not transcendental. So, we can’t give a certificate, right. Gurudev himself specifically told us that advice, “Don’t try to give a certificate to the higher plane, to a higher Vaishnava.” From my lower level I cannot give any certificate to a higher Vaishnava. Or: “You are like this, you are like that, you have this quality, you have that quality.” How can I ascertain that I have no vision into that level? I can’t see that level. So what qualities and qualifications he has on that level I can’t give any certificate for that.

#00:03:45#

But his Guru can, because his Guru is of that level and his Guru gave that certificate. Right? And that certificate is the pranam-mantram, not just the pranam-mantram, that kind of embodies the certificate that his Guru gave him. But his Guru gave him many certificates throughout his life, from the day he joined in the mission until the day that His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj left this world. He gave innumerable certificates to his most dear ones.

#00:04:20#

Sarvabhavana Prabhu: Srila Gurudev he’s so extremely conscious with his dealings, with his devotees, with his service, managing a worldwide mission and at the same time carefully guiding all of his disciples old to young in such a personal sweet way. In my own case, you know, he gave me instruction and he gave me help in the most wonderful way. And I’m just, you know, I feel surprised that a personality like that could give attention to someone like me.

#00:05:09#

Hasya Priya Prabhu: They say that we’ve been traveling around the universe for millions and billions of lifetimes and lost. And a pure devotee of Srila Govinda Maharaj’s caliber he’s traveling around to find us. And so, he’s just traveling around the world many times, 23 times since he started traveling in the 1990s. And as he said before he left for India this last time that he wanted to come to meet with the devotees who weren’t able to come to India to meet with him. So, we see, we understand that that’s his mood, that he’s coming to find us to give us some assistance wherever we are, we don’t even have to go to India. He comes here and that’s his selfless nature of his desire to serve his Gurudev’s instructions.

#00:06:31#

Jagadananda Prabhu: Similarly, he tries to glorify Srila Govinda Maharaj, to glorify somebody of such infinite capacity and infinite kindness and mercy compassion and sweetness, beauty, charm, like that. Actually, they already you, probably many of you, have already seen his pictures from his Vyasa Puja were already posted very, very wonderful, beautiful. And he looks so exalted and sweet a very beautiful sort of bluish silk a little chaddarish thing on it. Was very nice never seen that before.

#00:07:07#

And so of course we weren’t fortunate to be there but to be here. This is his ashram. Like Hasya Priya Prabhu was saying, so we always have to try to make it in his mood and his mood of sweetness and accommodation. I just love the quote of Srila Swami Maharaj, “As we’re accommodating, so we’ll be expansive.” And in that way. Srila Govinda Maharaj, hopefully we can serve you one of these lifetimes and properly even if we can do that one fraction of the in the way that you serve Srila Guru Maharaj. Like Shrutashrava Prabhu was saying from his pranam-mantra. There the service to his Gurudev so unparalleled, so beyond satisfied the desires of his Gurudev, Srila Guru Maharaj, in an unprecedented way, in an inconceivable way.

#00:08:10#

And actually, Srila Guru Maharaj right before he was leaving actually, he’s even taking Srila Govinda Maharaj’s hand and sort of patting having him pat his head like that, you know, getting even the blessings of his Guru. I mean of his disciple. And Srila Govinda Maharaj he isn’t exactly said like this but that’s, that’s my take on it and so cause what did Srila Guru Maharaj say about him, “If you have any faith in me I have this same faith that he has everything I have and more and can give that to you.”

#00:08:48#

Kamal Krishna Prabhu: So as one of the themes of people’s discussion has been this morning, “What ability do we have to glorify Srila Govinda Maharaj? What certificate can we give him?” But I was thinking that while Srila Govinda Maharaj was here he spoke on the Vyasa Puja, appearance day of his Guru Maharaj, and he glorified his Guru in a particular way. I thought we could learn something from that. One expression he made, he said,

#00:09:21#

kṛṣṇa yadi kṛpā kare kona bhāgyavāne
guru-antaryāmi-rūpe śikhāya āpane

_{(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: Madhya-līlā, 22.47)}

He says, “If one, if Krishna is going to be merciful and bestow good fortune upon his soul He will enlighten and guide that soul as the indwelling Lord or chaitya-guru in another way and as the mahant-guru from without to guide them in these two ways. And if we look that verse is in the Chaitanya-charitamrita in the discussion of abhidheya-tattva. And there there’s just the that verse is actually some Bengali discussion and there’s a verse from the Bhagavatam spoken by Uddhava which deals with a similar theme which I think is also on the theme of today’s people’s expressions it says,

#00:10:11#

[sloka]

This is how it says, it says that, you know, the kavi which Srila Prabhupada translates, “Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual science even if they had a lifetime as prolonged as that of Lord Brahma and with that lifetime happily went on remembering and appreciating.” In an appreciating—what?

#00:10:38#

[sloka]

Appreciating the Lord who’s coming to reveal His own means by which we can approach Him in two forms—as the acharya and the chaitya-guru. In these two forms He’s coming to enlighten the soul as in an internal form and an outer guiding form to remove all inauspiciousness. So the Lord, this merciful arrangement of the Lord, you know, the quality of His extensions as the Guru in the heart [chaitya-guru], and the Guru [as the acharya], in our case Srila Govinda Maharaj, you know, that even if we had a lifetime as long as Lord Brahma happily just constantly went on glorifying that. And even if we were really expert at doing that glorification still, we wouldn’t get very far or we wouldn’t be able to exhaust those things. So that’s something to be happily remembered as first.

#00:11:33#

Janardan Maharaj: Srila Govinda Maharaj he has tried to train us in such a way that we become more qualified as instruments or as servitors. I’m not a very qualified servitor, but Srila Govinda Maharaj has entrusted me with some responsibility and I try to be able to fulfill that responsibility. It’s the only thing I have. If I don’t do that, what is my service connection? So, I want to have a service connection with Srila Govinda Maharaj.

#00:12:16#

[…] Prabhu: One disciple of Srila Prabhupada said, “I want to go to the heavenly planets.” He was an astrologer type. And Srila Prabhupad said, “Then you do not need Guru.” And he rejected him. So, you’re here for one reason really, you’re here to develop your love for Sri Krishna to enter into the family of service. And Srila Govinda Maharaj he giving that deeply within the heart. Janardan Maharaj he described how, he has heard so many people they are preaching same thing, so many words coming out, but having a different effect. Having a different effect what is the beauty of the Vaishnav-acharya is that they can go deep into your heart and transform your heart. There are doctors of the heart, of the spiritual heart that hrid-rogam, that disease of the heart, that each of us has as conditioned soul. Those Vaishnavas they are qualified to go deep into our heart and to transform that. And by transforming it means cutting, cutting that connection with illusion and giving us real service.

#00:13:35#

[Janardan Maharaj with devotees sing “Sri Bhoga-arati Giti”.]

#00:14:38#

Voice-over: Meanwhile in the kitchen the cooks and their crew prepared for the feast.

[Replicas in the kitchen.]

#00:15:19#

[The altar opens. Glorification of Deities.]

#00:15:27#

[Shrutashrava Prabhu with devotees sing “Sri Nama-kirtan”.]

#00:16:46#

[Jaya-dhvani]

#00:16:55#

[Janardan Maharaj with devotees sing “Sri Guru Arati”.]

#00:18:45#

[Jaya-dhvani]

#00:19:06#

[Offering of flower petals and garlands to the image of Srila Govinda Maharaj.]

gurvvābhīṣṭa-supūrakaṁ guru-gaṇair āśīṣa-saṁbhūṣitaṁ
chintyāchintya-samasta-veda-nipuṇaṁ śrī-rūpa-panthānugam
govindābhidham ujjvalaṁ vara-tanuṁ bhakty anvitaṁ sundaraṁ
vande viśva-guruñ cha divya-bhagavat-premṇo hi bīja-pradam

[Glorification of Srila Govinda Maharaj.]

#00:20:57#

[Replicas while taking prasadam.]

A Few Vyasa Puja Offerings…

#00:22:34#

Sarvabhavana Prabhu: Dear Srila Gurudev please accept my dandavat-pranams at your holy lotus feet. You’re my divine master and I’m a very useless servitor, but I’m trying. I’m extremely grateful for your merciful association and also the association of your devotees. Your connection is the most important thing in my life. And I simply aspire to be your servitor and to do what I can for your devotees. Please grant me this position as a servitor of your service. Dandavat. Ok.

#00:23:26#

Nalina Sundari Devi Dasi: Dandavat, dear Gurudev! I just realized today that it’s so beautiful that your disciples make every their step just to get your mercy. And I’m so grateful for you that you gave me this opportunity to have association of that your beloved disciples. And this is my great hope, that I can see this mercy and beauty that comes from them. And this is my great fortune that I have this opportunity to congratulate you with your Vyasa Puja. And thank you so much for everything that you gave me. Dandavats.

#00:24:13#

Sita Devi Dasi: Jai Gurudev! Happy Vyasa Puja! Thank you for your guide. Thank you for your guidance. You have shown me so much about Krishna consciousness with your own example. I am fortunate to have association with your devotees. I am also very fortunate to have first and second initiation at such a young age. Thank you. Jai Gurudev! Happy Vyasa Puja!

#00:24:53#

Nadia Devi Dasi: Thank you, Gurudev! I feel unqualified to speak. All I can say is “Happy birthday!” And I hope that you send your blessings to me and to every other fallen soul. Thank you so much for the association you’ve given me through the devotees and I hope one day that I can serve you as you want me to serve you. Thank you.

#00:25:23#

Ramai Prabhu: Yes, he’s the, he’s the puppeteer and I’m just a puppet, said he’s like working his, you know, he’s doing the puja through the margination and marionetting using me as his marionette to do the puja. And that’s how he does, that’s how he gets me to do puja all my life. But I don’t know anything else to say because…

#00:25:52#

Kum Kum Devi Dasi: Dandavat, Srila Gurudev! So here we are in San Jose. It’s always so difficult to be in separation from you but you have given us a connection through service to you. And we saw so many wonderful devotees just in the last couple of days preparing for your divine appearance here. It was celebrated very beautifully and we had quite a few devotees who came and spoke about you. Sripad Janardan Maharaj also spoke in San Jose and let that after speaking in Soquel. And please continue to give us service. That’s our only reason for life, it’s our reason for whatever happiness we may get in this life. And it’s all that we have, we have nothing else. So please always think of how to engage us in your service. We will try.

#00:26:47#

Lila Shakti Devi Dasi: Hi! Happy Vyasa Puja! I’m so glad to be celebrating your birthday. I see your face and every one of the smiling devotees here and then all of their devotion and their desire to serve you. I wish I could be there with you and someday maybe I’ll be able to make it to India. Dandavats.

_{Captured by Ananta Krishna Das
Edited by Tradish Das}