Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja's Tirobhava

Saradia purnima - Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja's Tirobhava
24 October 1999
Mathura

[Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja]: Today is the disappearance day of our holy master, Nitya-lila-pravista-om-visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. Today is Saradia-purnima. You know that on this very sacred day our reverend holy master entered into the pastimes of Goloka Vrndavana. On that night there was a lunar eclipse and the moon was coming in like a reddish color. At that time Radha and Krsna called him and he entered that. So this rasa, saradia rasa purnima, from this day rasa was given. I have told you that all the sweet pastimes of Krsna especially, they were in this month, Kartika month. Krsna killed Kamsa in this month. [Hindi] All the special pastimes, prominent, sweet pastimes of Krsna were held in this month. [Hindi]

Our president and acarya of our Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti, parama pujyapada Vamana Maharaja could not come. He's in Navadipva dhama. We offer puspanjali in his lotus feet. [Hindi]

The Western devotees, they requested me so many times that, "We have a very large book about Swamiji, Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, but we don't know about Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, and he's the sannyasa-guru of our reverend gurudeva, but we don't know anything about him." And also the devotees of all parts of India, and those who live in foreign countries, they requested me to make a translation or book glorifying our gurudeva. So I tried. By the mercy of my gurudeva and my elder godbrothers pujyapada Vamana Maharjaa and pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja. They are so much senior to me. You know Vamana Maharaja joined Gaudiya Matha perhaps in 1913 when he was a very little baby like of 8 or 9 or 12 years. His mother gave Vamana Maharaja in the hands of our gurudeva, and from then he's serving all and especially our gurudeva. So Vamana Maharaja is very qualified. I have offered my Hindi edition of the Life and Precepts of my gurudeva, and I have given to them in their hands so that they can give in the hands of my gurudeva. [Hindi]

Today we have published this in English also, now the English edition has come. And I think in Western countries it will be very much honored and all will try to collect this book. It is like Jaiva dharma. In it there is so much glory of our gurudeva, his teachings also, very strong teachings. So you must collect this book and read this book. You will know so many important things about our sampradaya, and how he served his Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya, especially Sarasvata dhara. So I'm offering this book to his beloved, my elder gurubrother, parama pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja.

He can give this book in the hands of my gurudeva, our gurudeva, and he will be very much happy to have this book. So I am giving, handing over this book to parama pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja who will give this book in the hands of my gurudeva.

Now I will request parama pujya pada Trvikrama Maharaja to speak because he knows so many things more than, better than me, about Guru Maharaja. I joined Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti nearly two years or three years after his coming, joining. If parama pujyapada Vamana Maharaja was here, oh, he can glorify Gurudeva so much. But we will sent this book where he is, and I know that he will be very happy, very happy. So I am requesting parama pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja to tell something about our gurudeva.

[BV Trivikrama Maharaja speaks]: Glorification is possible by the pure devotee. [Hindi]. A pure devotee can glorify the glory of his divine master or Lord Krsna. Who is not honest and pure cannot glorify him. So pujyapada Srila Narayana Maharaja has ordered me, but I am not proper devotee to glorify our divine master. But it is the duty of all disciples to glorify their divine master. But I wish that maybe gradually I may acquire the qualification of glorification. I will try, but I know that my glorification will not reach, will not be sufficient. I was living in the material world, I had no connections, no knowledge of the spiritual world. But by their grace or boon I have been able to understand a little of the spiritual line.

It is a fact, a truth, that a godbrother of my divine master Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, whose name was Sripad Bhaktibhavana Madhusudana Maharaja. He was not a sannyasi, he was a brahmacari. First of all he gave me instructions and he gave me a little. . . . [Hindi]

tasmad gurum prapadyeta
jijnasuh sreya uttamam

This is the instruction of Bhagavatam [11.3.21]. [Hindi]

mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te
(Gita 7.14)

He who takes shelter in Me, only he can be free from maya, he can pass away from maya, no other man can go away from maya. So it is stated that we should take shelter of Lord Krsna, mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te. What do we mean by mam eva? Eva means certainly. [Hindi]

saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih [Hindi]

Bhagavan, sastra has declared, that gurudeva is the dearest one of Lord Krsna. And for that he can give me everything. By his wish Lord Krsna will be pleased, and anything will be, may be had. So we have no other alternative than to take shelter of the louts feet of the divine master who can, by whose blessing and by whose prayer Lord Krsna maybe be merciful upon me. This is the bounded duty without the blessing of Srila Gurudeva, nothing can be had in the devotee's life, in devotional life. So every disciple should surrender completely to the lotus feet of the divine master. But I am most wretched one. I am not able to surrender in the louts feet of my divine master so how can I glorify him. It is hopeless for me. It is only possible for him who has completely surrendered, who has sacrificed everything, body, mind, soul, wealth and belongings to the lotus feet of his divine master. I know pujyapada Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja is a person who has devoted everything for the service of him. I am not a proper servant or bonafide servant so it is impossible for me to glorify my divine master. [Hindi]

He uttered the name of Krsna, 'Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,' then he stopped [went into nitya-lila]. He uttered 'Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare.' When Lord Caitanya uttered the spiritual names, He uttered so that you could hear the image of Lord Krsna. The pure devotee is uttering 'Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,' tears are rolling down from their eyes as long as they are uttering. But we do not take any drop of water from the eyes. So although the sound is coming it is very dim. So my glorification is like that. I can express this glorification but it is like material, but my divine master possesses no material qualification, he is a possessor of transcendental qualification which cannot be expressed by a bound soul like me.

My spiritual master is always with his divine master. Spiritual vision, he's always living with his spiritual master. So in this separation he entered into the spiritual service line. This is not true fact. He entered in the service and joined rasa lila, and he was joined so long that he did not reappear. I think so. So it is difficult to express. But as he was in rasa lila, so he must carry from our side. He is present in the rasa lila, it is true. He was not present, joined place, and that is the pastime I consider according to my knowledge I think is true.

I'm not trying to waste your valuable time. You may hear everything from Srila Narayana Maharaja. Thank you.

[BV Narayana Maharaja]: Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja came in this math, here, and took renounced order. And what is the meaning of renounced order? I have told this in this book and so many times. So now there is not so much time to explain all these things. And he gave him sannyasa, and then he went to whole world and preached very strong, and he got inspiration. He has written in his letter to Trivikrama Maharaja and myself on this very day, when I telephoned him in America. He was in Seattle. And I gave him.

And today he was with all his senior leaders and all, and he wrote to me of that thing And he wrote one sloka:

vairagya-yug-bhakti-rasam prayatnair
apayayan mam anabhipsum andhamkrp
ambudhir yah para-duhkha-duhkhi
sri-kesava-bhakti-prajnana-nama

So his relationship to our gurudeva was like both his siksa-guru and sannyasa-guru. He has told so much. So we should know that really he gave Bhaktivedanta, this name to him. And also to us, Bhaktivedanta Vamana, Bhaktivedanta Trivikrama, Bhaktivedanta Narayana, Bhaktivedanta so on, and he kept the name of his society, Bhaktivedanta society, Gaudiya Vedanta Society. So he's so much related to our gurudeva. He did not give his sannyasa disciples the name 'Bhaktivedanta,' but we are 'Bhaktivedanta,' Bhaktivedanta Vamana, Bhaktivedanta Trivikrama, Bhaktivedanta Narayana and after that he became Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja. So it can be said that we are in his line. We can claim that we are in his claim. So there is no separation between us and him. It may be that some separation took place.

But he can glorify our gurudeva, and also we can glorify Swamiji, Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja. But those who are falling down, how can they glorify him? They cannot glorify him, never. So we can glorify him in his line, and he's in our line, in my gurudeva's, this line, and we are in this line. In true guru parampara. He was in Gaudiya parampara, we are also. But now they are giving up. And they are cutting. They are establishing that he was the founder of ISKON, but I know that he was not founder, he was one of the members of this in guru parampara. It was founded by Krsna, and first acarya was Brahma, then Narada, then Vyasa. Only he has changed the name and he has preached these things in Western countries. If he had established this and preaching new one, then it will not be eternal. But he was eternal leader, in eternal guru parampara. So he was not establisher, but he changed the name in English, he translated. So it is eternal, ISKCON is eternal thing. It has been named recently, but this name is what? Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya, Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya. So we are all like in a family, like family persons. Don't see that we are divided here and there.

From the beginning of my gurudeva's life his everything was so transcendental. After his birth, so many transcendental things came.

He was born in a very high cultured and aristocratic family. From beginning, when he was like a student in school. He used to attend so many . And his father was in the line of One very famous yogi, Vijaya Krsna Gosvami, and after that he became vaisnava. After that he became totally vaisnava after that. So he in his line, the father of our gurudeva and mother were vaisnavas. From his beginning he was very bold, he was kavi, poet, and very good writer. In his student life he began a patrika, monthly patrika, monthly magazine for school. [Hindi]

When he was in student life, he made, formed a society to serve any poor and needy persons. [Hindi]

Once our guru Maharaja returned in his home at about 9 or 10 in the night, and his mother took a stick and was standing at the door. "Where you were?" [Hindi]. "Where you have gone?" [Hindi - Kesava Maharaja replied that they had formed a society to help needy people, collecting whatever money they could from student's lunch money. They found out some old lady who was sick and had no money for medicines, so they got medicine for her and were taking shifts looking after her.].

We are part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that is Krsna, so we must serve Him. We are all unhappy because we are not serving and forgetting Krsna. [Hindi]

When our Guru Maharaja established Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti, Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja was one of the founding members. Pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja was there, and so many others were there. So Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja was also in Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. And from here he went here and there. [Hindi]

But Swamiji preached everywhere, but after some time, after his departure we see that everywhere all are upset now. About 95% of the senior and renounced order sannyasis have fallen down. Everywhere they are upset, what to do and what not to do. At that time Swamiji and my Gurudeva sent me to the West and I went everywhere. And that is why we see the fruit, that over all world so many sincere senior vaisnavas are coming, from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia, Indonesia, America, Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, England, Germany, France. From all over.

[Devotee]: Russia even.

[BVNM]: So I am indebted to all. So this is the fruit of the tree that they planted, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and after that water was given by Srila Gurudeva and Swamiji, and after that they are giving also now, now also. By their mercy we are doing all. So I am going there, but pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja and Vamana Maharaja, they are so much merciful to me. If they are not merciful I could not do anything. [Hindi]

[Maharaja addresses Ramacandra prabhu]: Very brief.

[Ramacandra gives some translation]: Maharajaji is taking the first instance spoken by pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja. He said, and pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja also said, that how first they came in contact with their gurudeva.

It was a very inspiring instance. pujyapada Narottamananda Brahmacari, and I think Trivikrama Maharaja has told his name, Madhusudana Maharaja. He became sannyasi and his name became Madhusudana Maharaja. He was an eloquent speaker of Bhagavatam. So when he was reciting Bhagavatam, pujyapada Trivikram Maharaja heard his Bhagavatam and he came in touch with Gaudiya parampara. And similarly Maharaja, Gurudeva, was also saying that he was preached to first of all by Narottamanada Brahmacari. And Maharaja was also saying that the first time he went there, at that time three devotees were there -- Narottamanada Brahamacari, Trivikrama Maharaja and Narasimha Maharaja. They all went to some place, Sahi Ganja, where Maharaja first time met them and came in contact with Gaudiya parampara.

Maharaja was quoting all these incidences to give us one very important and serious point, that in order to offer our offerings to gurudeva, first we are recollecting our vartma pradaksa guru, the first person who has shown the path towards our gurudeva. And Maharaja was saying that, "I was so much fascinated by Narottamananda Brahamacari that I told I want to take harinama from you." Then he said that, "You are so much surrendered to me, then follow my instructions. I instruct you that you should take harinama from pujyapada Kesava Maharaja." And hence this is the way that both of them were showing how we should offer our offerings to gurudeva. First to the person who has brought us to this line.

Today is the day that pujyapada parama gurudeva went into the eternal pastime of Krsna. And today's eternal pastimes is rasa lila because today is saradia purnima. This is the day when Krsna performed His rasa, saradia rasa. So Maharaja was explaining the day. It was about 6 pm or 6.30pm, sunset down and moon was rising. And Maharaja told that this was the day of moon eclipse also, and moon was quire red in rising stage. At that time he entered into the eternal pastimes. Maharaja was also explaining that at that moment it appeared he was sick, apparently he was sick only, but he was always absorbed in some mood, and weeping and weeping, tears were coming out from his eyes.

Maharaja said that he was in Calcutta, and he was going to Navadvipa, and only two days before leaving, when he entered into the eternal pastimes, he was in Navadvipa. And in Navadvipa he showed as if he had no any problems, he was ok, alright. And during the last night he was totally absorbed.

Maharaja said, "I was reciting the kirtana." And you must have heard so many kirtanas Maharaja was reciting. And he was very, very absorbed in listening to it. Then finally when he went into avesa, and they realized that he's trying to enter into the pastimes, then all of the disciples started kirtana, loud kirtana of Hare Krsna mahamantra. And he was also participating in the kirtana in the same rhythm and melody and in the last moment he halted, Maharaja was saying, 'Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, ' and then in a rolling voice of 'Hare.' And then finished. It's not finished, because he entered into eternal pastimes.

Maharaja was saying that we can understand the extent of his glorification in that even one of his disciples [attained such an elevated state]. He was a very beautiful boy. His name was Ananga mohan, and he was a very good kirtaniya. And such a good kirtaniya, and he also prepared prasadam for gurudeva. When he fell sick he was admitted to hospital. At that time Maharaja and one Babaji was serving him. And when he was leaving this abode, Maharaja was present at that time in front of him. His state was that, "Oh, Radha-Krsna is calling me in Vrndavana. O Baba! O Baba!" He used to call Gurudeva 'Baba.' "O Baba!" 'Baba' means 'father.'

And also one of the godbrother of parama gurudeva, he was also reciting His name. And at that time he was saying that, "Radha-Krsna is calling me to Vrndavana."

[BVNM]: Gaura and Nityananda Prabhu.

[Ramacandra]: "Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhu are calling me to Vrndavana." And Maharaja says. . . .

[BVNM]: And he was telling like, "Radha Krsna! Radha Krsna!" like this.

Doctor was telling that, "How he's speaking? His heart has collapsed, but still he's doing."

[Ramacandra]: This is very, very unbelievable for the material people. But it was not his body who was speaking, it was he who was speaking. And Maharaja realized his presence, and Maharaja was saying that, "I started to render my prayers to him. 'O Prabhu, you are really in a very special mood, and you are going to your abode. I now pray at your lotus feet, also take me with you. You are so fortunate.'" This way he entered into the real abode.

Then Maharaja compared this to when Ajamila called his son Narayana and it was namabhasa, and he could get opportunity to go to Vaikuntha. So when a disciple who is initiated by such a highly elevated personality like Bhaktiprajana Kesava Maharaja, and when at the end of his life he's saying, "O Radha-Krsna, Gaura Nityananda is calling me." Then what will be his state? He will positively enter into the eternal abode of Radha and Krsna, that is Goloka Vrndavana. So when his disciple is like this, then how will be his guru?

So Maharaja has quoted many instances of his life.

[Maharaja asks Ramacandra Prabhu to stop speaking. Then Maharaja recites the first sloka of Damodaraastakama, then Maharaja speaks in Hindi. After this we all go to Visrama ghat on the bank of the Yamuna to make sankalpa (vow) for Kartika. Afterwards we return to Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha. Then at 10am we all gather. There is kirtana, then Maharaja asks some of his godbrothers to speak, like pujyapada Giri Maharaja, and Kunja Bihara Brahmacari. They speak in Hindi. Then Maharaja asks Urukrama and Jnana dasa prabhus to speak in English. Then Maharaja speaks in English. (Transcript to follow upon receiving the tape)]

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