Brahmānanda dāsa Gosvāmī

It was in 1969 that one of us discovered an old issue of a magazine published by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Maharaja containing a homage written by Srila Prabhupada to commemorate the appearance day of his spiritual master. When it was brought to Srila Prabhupada's attention he said we could also write down our Vyasa Pūja appreciations, as he had done 40 years before, and publish them in a special book. We had very little time to inform all the temples to rush us their offerings, and as they came in only a few days before the deadline, we had to edit, compose and paste it all up for being printed in great haste. Out men worked well into the early morning for several days. On the morning of Vyasa Pūja several finished copies arrived in Hamburg temple where Srila Prabhupada was staying. He was quite pleased and had the book read aloud to him.

That Vyasa Pūja of five years ago is memorable to me because we were able to please our spiritual master by our service. This is the very meaning of Vyasa Pūja. A disciple is always a debtor to his spiritual master. How can he repay what the spiritual master has given-devotional service? Imagine a friend agreeing to lend you any sum and when you repaid it he would immediately lend you double the sum, on and on, so that whenever you repaid you would immediately become a debtor for double the amount. The disciple is therefore ever alert as to how to please the spiritual master, and the spiritual master kindly provides needs so that the disciple can serve him as a menial servant. The spiritual master will even appear to be infirm so that he seems to be dependant upon his disciple's service. This exhibition of the reciprocation of bhakti was also shown by the Lord Sri Krsna when He appeared as an ordinary child and was threatened by so many demons-just so that His devotees would constantly think of His welfare and protection.

With each yearly issue, the Vyasa Pūja book surpassed the first 1969 issue. Now that there are so many devotees, the temple presidents and GBC are asked to write representatively. The appreciations are thoughtful and not sentimental and the get up and the illustrations become nicer each year. That 1969 Vyasa Pūja is important because it demonstrated that by mutually cooperating we were able to please the spiritual master. If one of us had failed in his part, the deadline would have been missed. For me, then, the significance is that I feel obliged to admit that my being able to please my spiritual master is ultimately dependent upon my Godbrothers.

Throughout these several years of serving and learning from Srila Prabhupada, it has been their example that has convinced me of Srila Prabhupada's teachings. I suspect that if I had been the sole disciple of Srila Prabhupada in all the world I would not have been able to advance in Krsna Consciousness. My Godbrothers are all so many siksa gurus because they have all taken the shelter one hundred per cent of our great diksa guru, Srila Prabhupada. So on this Vyasa Pūja Day I glorify my spiritual master who has created so many representatives to teach and encourage me to become Krsna conscious. It is a fact that anyone who becomes Krsna conscious is very great and rare, yatatam api siddhanam/ kascin mam vetti tattvataḥ (Bg 7.3), but of those who are Krsna conscious, he who can make others Krsna conscious is the greatest, bhavita na ca me tasmad / anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi. (Bg. 18.69).

His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada is the real spiritual master and acarya. He teaches Krsna consciousness to everyone, regardless of time, circumstances, culture or religion. He is so expert that he can elevate any desiring candidate to the topmost position of qualified brahmin. Thus, he is the jagat guru, the spiritual teacher of the whole world. Others may claim to be jagat guru but they have not been outside of India or even outside their own state in India. So what do they know about jagat, the world? Anyone who tries to compromise Srila Prabhupada's achievements is foolish and envious like a jackal. In the jungles the jackals howl together very boisterously and sometimes they come to think themselves the lords of the jungle, forgetting that the lion is the real king. They go on howling but as soon as the lion appears and gives one roar, they all scamper. So for all the so called spiritual masters, yogis and svamis, Srila Prabhupada's achievement is very embarrassing.

As a disciple, I am the best testimony for Srila Prabhupada's achievements. What he has given me no one else could-neither scientist, professor, mentor, philosopher, writer, parent nor politician. He has freed me from birth, death, old age and disease-janma mrtyu-jara-duḥkhaiḥ.

And only one who is freed from the miseries of the material body and the mind can really be happy-vimukto 'mrtam asnute. So in the ecstasy of Krsna consciousness I am prepared to incessantly glorify my spiritual master.

For a devotee, anyone who helps him in his devotional service to Sri Krsna or His representative is a friend, and an enemy is anyone who hinders his service. By the grace of my spiritual master I have so many friends in ISKCON. The purpose of ISKCON is that by associating together in living, studying, working and worshiping, we remind each other of Krsna and our relationship with Him. By preaching and cooperating together to broadcast the holy name and the philosophy of Krsna consciousness on a worldwide scale we also remind the people in general of Krsna. The result for all devotees within the society is that they are individually enhanced as well as being able to make the highest contribution to the welfare of all people of all parts of the world.

Our spiritual master has called ISKCON a sample of Vaikuntha, the spiritual abode, where there is no anxiety. A sample of a very nice thing is meant to captivate us. Just like the Fuller Brush man sometimes comes to visit at your door and the first thing he does is give you a free sample brush. Being a sample, it is not very expensive, but it is nice and it is free, and so you become inclined to see what he is carrying in his case, resulting in your purchasing scores of his elegant and expensive goods. Similarly, the spiritual master has given us a sample of the spiritual abode where everyone is constantly remembering Krsna -the cowherd boys, the gopis, the beasts, the cows, the trees and the insects. ISKCON is organized so that in every activity we remember Krsna. Buddhi-yogam upasritya, maccitaḥ satatam bhava (Bg. 18.57). We have not had to pay anything to join; we've just taken freely as much as we like of chanting, dancing, feasting and learning philosophy. The result is that we are now mad after going back to Godhead at any cost.

The sample is meant to attract us, but we should not confuse it with the regular full line of goods for which we have to pay. ISKCON is not the same quantity of perfection as is Krsnaloka. In ISKCON we are being trained up for entering the spiritual world by learning how to surrender everything. Sarva-dharman parityajya /mam ekam saranam vraja (Bg. 18.66). We should not become discouraged if sometimes our Godbrothers exhibit some resemblance to material inebrieties. That must be there because none of us are pure devotees. Because we are in this body and have some connection to it, sometimes we lapse back into the habit of becoming agitated by is needs and desires. But the vision of a devotee is fixed. He sees Krsna within everyone, he sees everyone serving Krsna and he sees equally, panḍitaḥ sama-darsinaḥ (Bg. 5.18). He does not criticize or chastise his God-brothers nor does he adulate them extravagantly. It is one thing to encourage one another in our service, but is another thing to extoll certain devotees because of confusing their material qualifications for spiritual advancement. For a devotee, flattery is something not wanted.

It is by chanting of Hare Krsna that we grow healthy in spiritual life. Although the chanting is so powerful that it eradicates more sins than we can commit, still the effectiveness of the chanting depends on the quality of the utterance-how eager we are to have Krsna. When we begin chanting Hare Krsna we must pass from the sinful stage to the intermediary stage, or clearing stage, before we can achieve the purified stage. In the clearing stage we become more and more enlightened, nasayamy atma-bhavastho/ jnana-dipena bhasvata (Bg. 10.11) It is a gradual phenomena, like the dawning of the sun. At dawn there is no longer the darkness of night and we can see things, but we are still not in the brilliant sunlight of the day. But we know that because the sun has now dawned, if we wait patiently, the full light of the sun will surely come. So let us all cooperate fully like an army of spiritual masters to faithfully serve the mission of our spiritual master, each man to his best capacity, and free from all doubt and hesitation. Armed with the weapons of knowledge and detachment, jnana and vairagya, we should stand and fight against forgetfulness of Krsna. Let us become prakrti, a means of pleasure for our spiritual master, and let him manipulate us as he wishes so that to his slight touch we will dance like puppets. On this Vyasa Pūja Day let us all bow down and supplicate ourselves as follows: "I know no one but Krsna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me broken-hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is my worshipful Lord unconditionally."

Brahmananda dasa Gosvami
G.B.C-Africa