Written for the occasion
of
Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda’s disappearance day on O Merciful Çréla Prabhupäda... By
Çréla Bhaktivedänta Trivikrama Gosvämé Mahäräja [NOTE: This page uses Balarama font (available here) for better transliteration of Sanskrit into English. Click here for a version without Balarama font.]
You Are Compassionate to All Souls
O
my
most worshipable and merciful Çréla Prabhupäda, today, on your
auspicious disappearance day, you are being glorified everywhere – from all
directions. Those who are praising you are extremely fortunate, for you have
bestowed your favour upon them. You even shower your
compassion indirectly upon those who do not glorify you. As the very embodiment
of mercy, you exude nothing but compassion, though not everyone is able to
receive it equally, on account of his particular destiny. This does not imply
that you are partial. In
Bhagavad-gétä
(4.11), Çré Kåñëa
affirms: yathä mäà
prapadyante täàs
tathaiva bhajämy
aham As all surrender unto Me, I reward
them accordingly. You have properly safe-guarded the
integrity of this verse. Through your exemplary behaviour you have preserved the veracity of Çré Kåñëa’s statement in Bhagavad-gétä
(9.29), “samo
’haà sarva-bhüteñu
– I am equal to all
beings.” Without being perturbed, you would appropriately punish even those who
prided themselves in being your especially intimate servants. That chastisement is actually nothing
but your mercy and demonstrates your magnanimity. You Embody the Mood of
Separation
Çréla Prabhupäda, everything you do is in fact full of mercy. You
mercifully appeared in this world. You mercifully remained visible to our
material eyes for some time. And now, by your mercy, you have again become unmanifest to the materially conditioned living beings.
These three actions share the same purpose: to bestow mercy. This is your sole
aim. Even today you are not in any way depriving the living entities by
remaining concealed from their vision.
You are thoroughly acquainted with what is beneficial for the
jéva
and in what
proportion. The materially conditioned living entity, however, cannot comprehend
the manner in which you bestow your mercy. Çré Kåñëa allowed the gopés
to taste the bliss of
union and then revealed His limitless mercy by drowning them in an ocean of
separation from Him. Your behaviour is identical to Kåñëa’s,
for it displays the same unbounded mercy. If Çré Kåñëa had remained with the gopés
forever, the
conditioned souls would surely have been delighted, but the most merciful Çré Kåñëa
said: yat tv
ahaà bhavaténäà vai düre varte priyo dåçäm manasaù sannikarñärthaà mad-anudhyäna-kämyayä yathä düra-care preñöhe mana äviçya vartate stréëäà ca na
tathä cetaù sannikåñöe ’kñi-gocare mayy äveçya
manaù kåtsnaà vimuktäçeña-våtti yat anusmarantyo mäà
nityam acirän mäm upaiñyatha Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(10.47.34–36)
The actual reason why I, the
treasured object of your sight, have stayed far away from you is that I wanted
to capture your minds and draw them closer to Me. When a woman’s lover is far away, she
thinks of him more than when he is present before her. Your minds are fully
absorbed in Me, forsaking all else, and you always
remember Me. Therefore, you will be reunited with Me
very soon. O Çréla Prabhupäda, your devotees,
who are absorbed in constantly remembering you with feelings of separation,
attain the state of mäm
upaiñyatha, “reunion with you”. This is an
example of your immense mercy. A
meeting that does not culminate in separation is not truly a meeting at all.
You Are
Uncompromising in Upholding the Truth O merciful Çréla Prabhupäda, you cannot
actually be introduced in terms of material time, place and historical events,
and therefore I am not interested in doing so. You are free from all material
qualities, and have in all ways revealed and preached unalloyed, transcendental
devotion characterised by separation. You are entirely intolerant of any
material doctrine. Therefore, you
have manifested your mercy by refuting mäyäväda, the doctrine
of illusion, through your sovereign-like writings, which are rich in the
conclusions of the scriptures, and through your speaking, which is as grave and
loud as thunder. O merciful
Çréla Prabhupäda, you never
pandered to the materialists. Rather, you terrified them, like death
personified. Hearing your lion-like roar proclaiming the principles and
conclusions of devotion, the fruitive workers hid deep
in their burrows like fearful jackals. Your valour as
an upholder of the truth is testimony to the limitless mercy you have for the
living entities. O generous Çréla Prabhupäda, no desire other than to serve Çré Kåñëa was ever present in your character. You were a brahmacäri, unmarried celibate, since childhood and later manifested the pastime of accepting sannyäsa, the renounced order. Thus, you have firmly established the principle that it is extremely difficult to achieve the ultimate goal of life if one is fond of associating with women. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura writes: ramaëé-jana-saìga-sukhaà
ca sakhe carame bhayadaà puruñärtha-haram Çré
Godruma-candra Bhajanopadeça
O friend, the pleasure to be had
in the company of beautiful young women ultimately turns to fearfulness, and
distracts one from the true goal of human life. You
have shown limitless mercy by living up to the ideal portrayed in these words of
your spiritual master. O merciful lord, your conceptions are
forever divine. In the religious conventions convened to discuss various
pertinent issues you invalidated the concept of demoniac varëäçrama
and established
divine varëäçrama. By your transcendental power, you
overcame the fierce opposition. As a result, your sincere servants have been
following that system of divine varëäçrama
to this day. This
divine triumph of yours displays your great compassion. O
merciful Çréla Prabhupäda,
you have condemned the concept that matter and spirit
are identical, as well as the ideas of the präkåtasahajiyäs1, and thereby illuminated the
nature of supremely pure devotional service. Had you not appeared on this earth,
who would have cleansed the heaps of impurities that had entered the
premadharma, religion of unadulterated love,
propagated by Çréman Mahäprabhu and who would have revealed its pure message? Who
would have distributed the beauty of devotional service in the mood of
separation, given by Çréman Mahäprabhu to the world? O Prabhu,
there is no end to your mercy. 1
A pseudosect of so-called Vaiñëavas
who variously misinterpret the original teachings of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé. Some even indulge in debauchery in the name of
bhakti, by trying to imitate the
transcendental loving affairs of Çré
Rädhä and Çré
Kåñëa. I Humbly Pray at Your
Lotus Feet
O
merciful master, on this day of your disappearance, may the remembrance of your
mercy become my life and soul. How far can an insignificant and wretched soul
like me touch upon your immeasurable compassion? Even the demigods cannot
adequately sing its glories. Nonetheless, I will be blessed if one day I can be
fortunate enough to serve the lotus feet of one of your servants, thereby
connecting with your mercy. Today, on your disappearance day, I humbly pray at
your lotus feet that I may not become degraded by committing any offences and
that I may eternally remain engaged in the service of the servants of your
servants.
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