may love, beauty, and truth prevail over all
“Viraha Mahotsav: A festival of separation”. Discussion last night in Sao Paulo on the divine disappearance day of our Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. English class by Vishakha Devi Dasi with translation into Portuguese by Rasikananda Prabhu.
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In this exclusive interview with Swami Bhakti Pavan Janardan Maharaj His Holiness shares his rich experience in over twenty years of association with our Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.
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Photo: Srimad Janardan Maharaj stands (far left) with Srila Gurudev and his entourage at the Krishna Shakti Ashram in Brazil, in 1996.
Discussion with Sriman Devashis Prabhu and Vishakha Devi Dasi, 14 October 2018.
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In one sense he was really a man of the world: he knew the world, he knew everything, and he was able to relate to the world in every possible way. But at the same time he was completely from another world and he was able to convey that to us in the simplest way, and as he would say, ‘heart to heart’, in a ‘heart to heart’ way. It wasn’t so much about the theory, although he knew that better than anybody, but just in his dealings with everybody we saw spiritual life in reality. I think that this is his unique contribution.
Sriman Devashis Prabhu speaks with profundity on his appreciation for Srila Gurudev.
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The great clouds of the sādhus always shower this nectar over the garden of the world, and as a result, fruits produced by this nectar ripen. The devotees constantly eat these fruits, and by their love the people of the world live.
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śrī-chaitanya-sama āra kṛpālu vadānya
bhakta-vatsala nā dekhi trijagate anya
We do not see anyone throughout the three worlds who is more merciful, magnanimous, and affectionate to devotees than Śrī Chaitanya.
śraddhā kari’ ei līlā śuna, bhakta-gaṇa
ihāra śravaṇe pāibā chaitanya-charaṇa
O devotees, listen to these Pastimes with faith! By hearing them, you will attain the feet of Śrī Chaitanya.
ihāra prasāde pāibā kṛṣṇa-tattva-sāra
sarva-śāstra-siddhāntera i̐hā pāibā pāra
By their grace, you will understand the essence of Kṛṣṇa’s nature and you will reach the culmination of the conclusions of all the scriptures.
kṛṣṇa-līlā-amṛta-sāra tāra śata śata dhāra
daśa-dike vahe yāhā haite
se chaitanya-līlā haya sarovara akṣaya
mano-haṁsa charāha tāhāte
Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes are the essence of nectar, and Śrī Chaitanya’s Pastimes are the inexhaustible reservoir from which hundreds and hundreds of streams of that nectar flow in the ten directions. May the swan of your heart play there.
bhakta-gaṇa, śuna mora dainya-vachana
tomā-sabāra pada-dhūli aṅge vibhūṣaṇa kari’
kichhu muñi karo̐ nivedana
O devotees, please listen to my humble words. Adorning my body with the dust of your feet, I submit something before you.
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-siddhānta-gaṇa yāte praphulla padma-vana
tāra madhu kari’ āsvādana
prema-rasa-kumuda-vane praphullita rātri-dine
tāte charāo mano-bhṛṅga-gaṇa
(In the reservoir of Śrī Chaitanya’s Pastimes) The principles of devotion to Kṛṣṇa are the forest of blooming lotus flowers and the rasa of divine love is the forest of lilies blooming there night and day. May the bees of your hearts play amongst them, tasting their nectar.
nānā-bhāvera bhakta-jana haṁsa-chakravāka-gaṇa
yāte sabe karena vihāra
kṛṣṇa-keli-mṛṇāla yāhā pāi’ sarva-kāla
bhakta-haṁsa karaye āhāra
Devotees of various moods sport there as swans and chakravāka birds. For eternity, these devotee-swans find and eat the lotus flowers of Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes.
sei sarovare giyā haṁsa-chakravāka hañā
sadā tā̐hā karaha vilāsa
khaṇḍibe sakala duḥkha pāibā parama sukha
anāyāse habe premollāsa
May you all go to that reservoir and play there forever as swans and chakravāka birds. All your suffering will end, you will experience the greatest happiness, and easily you will feel the joy of divine love.
ei amṛta anukṣaṇa sādhu mahānta-megha-gaṇa
viśvodyāne kare variṣaṇa
tāte phale amṛta-phala bhakta khāya nirantara
tāra preme jīye jaga-jana
The great clouds of the sādhus always shower this nectar over the garden of the world, and as a result, fruits produced by this nectar ripen. The devotees constantly eat these fruits, and by their love the people of the world live.
chaitanya-līlā—amṛta-pūra kṛṣṇa-līlā—sukarpūra
duhe mili’ haya sumādhurya
sādhu-guru-prasāde tāhā yei āsvāde
sei jāne mādhurya-prāchurya
When the condensed milk of Śrī Chaitanya’s Pastimes and the fine camphor of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes combine, they become very sweet, and those who taste them by the grace of Śrī Guru and the sādhus know the magnitude of their sweetness.
ye līlāmṛta vine khāya yadi anna-pāne
tabe bhaktera durbala jīvana
yāra eka-bindu-pāne utphullita tanu-mane
hāse, gāya, karaye nartana
Without the nectar of these Pastimes, even if devotees eat rice, their vitality remains weak, but by drinking just one drop of this nectar, their bodies and minds flourish, and they laugh, sing, and dance.
e amṛta kara pāna yāra sama nāhi āna
chitte kari’ sudṛḍha viśvāsa
nā paḍa’ kutarka-garte amedhya karkaśa āvarte
yāte paḍile haya sarva-nāśa
So drink this nectar, of which there is nothing equal, with firm faith in your heart. Do not fall into the ditch of false argument. If you fall into this foul and harsh whirlpool, you will lose everything.
śrī-chaitanya, nityānanda śrī-advaita, bhakta-vṛnda
āra yata śrotā bhakta-gaṇa
tomā-sabāra śrī-charaṇa kari’ śire vibhūṣaṇa
yāhā haite abhīṣṭa-pūraṇa
I hold on my head as an ornament the divine feet of Śrī Chaitanya, Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita, the devotees, and all the devotee-listeners, by whom all desires are fulfilled.
śrī-rūpa-sanātana- raghunātha-jīva-charaṇa
śire dhari—yāra kari āśa
kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛtānvita chaitanya-charitāmṛta
kahe kichhu dīna kṛṣṇadāsa
I hold the feet of Śrī Rūpa, Sanātan, Raghunāth, and Jīva on my head. Aspiring for them, the poor Kṛṣṇadās narrates something of the nectar of Śrī Chaitanya’s Pastimes infused with the nectar of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes.
Verses 2.25.268–281 of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami. Translation originally published on premadharma.org by Sripad B.K. Tyagi Maharaj.
An inspiring example of father following son: an interview with Raghunandan Prabhu of Olgiate Molgora, Italy.
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Photo: Raghunanda Prabhu stands with his son Madhurananda Prabhu, daughter Krishna Sakhi Devi Dasi, son-in-law Rituraj Prabhu, and grandson Sundar in the gardens of Villa Govinda Ashram.
An exclusive, informal, and in-depth interview with Swami Bhakti Ranjan Madhusudan about his appreciation for Srila Gurudev.
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Between October 2014 and July 2017, in poor health and with insufficient funds, but with a strong desire to satisfy Sri Guru, Damodar Prabhu of Sao Paulo, Brazil boldly demolished his family home and built a beautiful temple in its place. In this in-depth interview Damodar Prabhu also speaks about his beginnings in Krishna consciousness, challenges faced in service life, and the special relationship he had with His Holiness Sripad B.V. Tapasvi Maharaj (Bhuvan Mohan Prabhu).
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Portuguese and English with translation by Raseswari Devi Dasi.
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After years of extreme drug and alcohol addiction Hriday Govinda Prabhu left it all behind to embrace a life of exclusive service and dedication. He shares his heart-touching story in this interview.
“Where my parents failed, where the counsellors and the teachers, and the police officers failed and where I even failed myself because I was powerless, Krishna consciousness was the only thing with the potency to pull me from that muck and so now I owe it my life. I wouldn’t have a life without it. I have to give everything.”