© 2002 VNN
|
EDITORIAL  Comment on this story Vyasa Puja Offering To Srila Narayana Maharaja BY RADHANATH DAS EDITORIAL, Feb 27 (VNN) — [Feb. 12, 2002 was the Appearance Day of Tridandiswami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja. Radhanatha das Brahmacari wrote this appreciation in honor of that day.] All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga, To all respected devotees of the Lord, here we will try to describe the nectarine activities and instructions of our most worshipful Sri Gurupadapadma, om visnupada Sri Srimad Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, which we had the good fortune to witness here on the Murwillumbah (Australia) section of his world tour. Recognized as the most ecstatic part of the world tour by all participants, Murwillumbah has the single biggest community of disciples of Srila Gurudeva
This is Srila Guru Maharaja's sixth visit, and every year the nectarine scent of his hari-katha spreads further and further, extinguishing the sufferings of all moving and non-moving living entities. During Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja's manifest pastimes, he mercifully held a series of huge pandal programs in New Delhi. At that time there was a threat of armed conflict between perennial neighbours and best friends, India and Pakistan. War was miraculously averted, and Srila Swami Maharaja commented that the influence of hari-kirtana removed so much collected sinful reactions, that the residents of the sub-continent were spared the horrors of armed conflict. Just as Pariksit Maharaja subjugated the personification of Kali-yuga described in the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam when he traversed the globe to oversee the religious activities of the subjects under his control, in the same way we can not help but feel that Srila Guru Maharaja and his transcendental tour de force are uprooting the dog of this Kali-yuga by the scale and purity of his sankirtana. Srila Guru Maharaja arrived at the Brisbane Airport from Fiji, and drove directly here to Murwillumbah, looking relaxed and happy. After his arrival I had the good fortune to bathe in the nectar of his personal association. I said to him, "It appears as if you have taken a great burden upon yourself, with so much preaching and initiating so many disciples. Do you feel this weight?" Very beautifully he revealed the true conception of the unalloyed devotees by very sweetly saying, "Oh no. You do not understand. This is no burden for me because I am not doing anything. My Gurudeva and my Gauranga are doing everything. I am simply like a piece of dry straw. I do not have the power to do anything." The next day, Tuesday, the 12th of February, was the blessed day of Srila Guru Maharaja's appearance day, which perhaps is the single most important day in the life of a disciple. On this day, also commonly known as Sri Vyasa Puja, the bona fide acarya engages himself and his disciples in worshipping the position and contribution of Srila Veda Vyasadeva, his own Gurupadapadma, and his guru-parampara. Early in the morning Srila Guru Maharaja came from his morning walk and immediately sat down to perform the arcana of Sri Vyasa Puja, as delineated by Srila Sarasvati Thakura. Srila Guru Maharaja himself preformed the worship of the seven panchaks (panchak means a group of five personalities) like Guru Panchak, Vyasa Panchak, Krsna Panchak, etc. Then we had the great fortune to worship his lotus feet by the process of foot bathing and arati. Great feelings of love and gratitude swelled from the hearts of the assembled Vaisnavas and Vaisnavis. Srila Guru Maharaja took all of our devotion and, as the ideal transparent medium, placed all of our devotion carefully at the feet of his worshipful Istadevas, Sri Guru, Sri Gauranga and Sri Radha-Govinda. Casting his merciful glance on us, we felt our great fortune to have somehow or other crossed the path of such a divine abode of compassion. naivopayanty apacitim kavayas tavesa brahmayusapi krtam rddha-mudah smarantah yo 'ntar bahis tanu-bhrtam asubham vidhunvann acarya-caittya-vapusa sva-gatim vyanakti "O my Lord! Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual science could not fully express their indebtedness to You, even if they were endowed with the prolonged lifetime of Brahma, for You appear in two features - externally as the acarya and internally as the Supersoul - to deliver the embodied living being by directing him how to come to You." (SB 11.29.6) Srila Guru Maharaja then began to explain the symptoms of the bona fide spiritual master according to the eight verses of Sri Siksastakam of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti. The second verse of Sri Guruvastakam: mahaprabhoh kirtana-nrtya-gita- vaditra-madyan-manaso rasena romanca-kampasru-taranga-bhajo vande guroh sri caranaravindam "Sri Gurudeva is inspired by Mahaprabhu's sankirtana and is always dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments. Because he is tasting Mahaprabhu's prema-rasa in his heart, sometimes he exhibits ecstatic symptoms like a madman ö his hairs stand on end, he shivers, and waves of tears flow from his eyes. I offer prayers unto Sri Gurudeva's lotus feet." These are the signs of perfection seen on the body of the siddha-purusa (liberated soul). The Divine Master in the line of Sri Rupa and Sri Raghunatha has a form both as a devotee and servitor of Sri Gaura-Nitai, and he also has a form as a servitor of the Divine Couple. In that first form he always engages in the kirtana of the Divine Couple, under the guidance of Sri Gauranga. In another form, he/she exists as a female attendant of Srimati Radhika, and she always engages herself in the special services to Sri Radha-Krsna. Srila Guru Maharaja asked us in a very jovial manner, "What services does she preform? She is so powerful, that she can chastise Krsna Himself. She always arranges the meeting of the Divine Couple by cheating Their husbands, parents and rival gopis to enable Radharani to serve Sri Krsna. This is the full manifestation and quality of the spiritual masters in our sampradaya. Only someone who has this quality can represent the complete guru-tattva. Sri Gurudeva is not only a manifestation of Sri Balarama, but of Srimati Radhika Herself, as She is the guru of even Krsna. The Vaisnava who has gained the qualification of controlling his senses, but has not gained the qualification of direct service to Srimati Radhika can be said to be only a partial manifestation of guru-tattva. In this way Srila Guru Maharaja described the secrets of guru-mantra and guru-gayatri, and how the sincere disciple, by the process of unconditional surrender, can enter into the wealth of Srimati Radhika's intimate service, the property of our sampradaya. Here in Murwillumbah we have had the fortune to have him present for his divine Appearance Day for the last three years. The loving moods exchanged between the spiritual master and his bona fide servitors are the essence of spiritual perfection. Srimad-Bhagavatam advises us that the attraction towards material objects is the cause for repeated birth and death, but that same attraction when placed on the lotus feet of the liberated souls opens the door to Vaikuntha. Every evening Guru-Maharaja is speaking at the local hall, where over three hundred and fifty devotees and well-wishers eagerly crowd in to get the opportunity to hear the explanation of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's master piece, Sri Jaiva Dharma. From the first chapter he described the glories of Sri Navadvipa-dhama, and the science of the tattva of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Very beautifully and expertly Srila Guru Maharaja described the opening chapters of Sri Jaiva Dharma, where Sannyasi Thakura, the advaiti-vada, meets with the Maha-bhagavat Vaisnava, Srila Premadasa Babaji Maharaja. Falling at the feet of the Vaisnava Babaji, he told the Vaisnava the brief story of his life; how he had followed the doctrines of Sri Sankaracarya, and lived for many years in Varanasi, gradually raising himself through various stages until coming to the platform of Paramahamsa. One day when he was sitting alone absorbed in Brahmanada, a Vaisnava devotee chanting the names of the Panca-tattva walked past. By the mercy of that Vaisnava, for one moment, the sannyasi tasted the bliss of krsna-prema. Srila Guru Maharaja says that this is the actual meaning of a moments association with a pure devotee one can attain all perfection. Hearing of the history of the sannyasi, Premadasa Babaji Maharaja embraced him, "Oh you have actually one time tasted the happiness of krsna-prema. You are very fortunate I was unable to taste that krsna-prema." By the touch of the Vaisnava, the sannyasi experienced a happiness millions of times more than what he tasted in Varanasi. Srila Guru Maharaja expounded this theme for the next three nights, describing the relationship and behavior between guru and disciple, and how to approach and see the position of the siksa-guru. Very beautifully he described the qualification of the bona fide guru, and on what grounds a so-called guru may be rejected. So nicely did he describe the eminent position of Saptam Gosvami, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, that all the audience could experience the greatness of, and the contribution of this crest jewel of all Vaisnavas, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Guru Maharaja described the difference between a hamsa and a paramahamsa. He said in a very humorous way how a swan is so expert that she can separate milk from water; but a paramahamsa is so exalted that she finds no necessity in separating the water, because all she sees is milk, milk and more milk. In the same way the pure devotee only sees Krsna, Krsna and more Krsna. Guru Maharaja described the difference between nitya-dharma (eternal occupation of the jiva), anitya-dharma (temporary occupation of the conditioned soul) and namittic-dharma (occasional occupation of the soul or misra-bhakti). Then he went through the whole Dasamula-siksa. Srila Guru Maharaja initiated over 40 devotees into the nectarean chanting of the holy name. "He is traversing the globe like a transcendental vacuum cleaner," expressed one enlivened devotee, "The more I resist the harder he pulls." When I see the empowered preaching of His Grace, I am reminded of a statement of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He once stated that only the uttama adhikari can preach because only he has the power to completely transform the heart of the conditioned souls, as his mercy is without restriction. The madhyama-adhikari has to discriminate between the envious and the simple hearted, but the maha-bhagavat has no need of such discriminative powers. He gives mercy to the demonic and the godly equally. We feel very fortunate to have contacted Srila Guru Maharaja and his powerful preaching of the message of his Sri Gauranga. His contribution to the Sampradaya is unique and broad. We all thank him from the bottom of our hearts and pray that the merciful Lord Nityananda may grant our divine master with a long life and good health so that he can complete his two-prong attack on maya by first uprooting apasidhantic conclusions and second by uncalculatingly injecting nectarean bhakti-rasa slowly but surely into the hearts of all moving and non-moving living entities. Begging to remain your servant, Radhanath das Related VNN Stories Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
NEWS DESK | EDITORIALS | TOP |
