На день ухода Шрилы Прабхупады _ 2023

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Dearest Srila Prabhupada: Please accept my humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to You!

On this solemn occasion of your disappearance day, my heart overflows with gratitude and devotion as I reflect on the profound impact you have had on my life. Your teachings, steeped in the timeless wisdom of our tradition, continue to be the guiding light of my spiritual journey. The personal mandate you gave me to “preach boldly and have faith in the holy names” resonates with every beat of my heart and in every step of my travels around the world.

For over 50 years, I, alongside my beloved godbrothers and godsisters have endeavored to carry your message to the far reaches of the globe. The “Festival of India”, the Sadhu Sanga Kirtan retreat, and the annual Rishikesh Kirtan Fest represent some of my humble offerings to the grand tapestry of your global mission. Through these endeavors, I strive to fulfill your desire to spread Krishna consciousness far and wide.

By your grace, I have felt your presence at every step of my spiritual life, including on the darkest day of all – the day you left this world. Yet, even amidst that immense sorrow, almost miraculously, I felt that you were not far away, for you had prepared me for that moment from the infancy of my spiritual life. In 1971, after your visit to our Detroit temple, I wrote a letter to you wherein I expressed that I was missing you. Two weeks later, I received your gracious reply. You wrote:

“I can understand your feelings of separation, for I am also missing my Guru Maharaja. But I feel he is always watching over and protecting me.”

I held that letter to my heart the day we heard you had left us. It gave me great solace then and continues to do so to this very day.

Srila Prabhupada, as the years go by, all that I thought was mine has begun to fade away, even memories of the distant past. Nevertheless, one emotion deep within the inner recesses of my heart steadfastly endures and grows ever stronger, oblivious to the passing of time – and that is my deep feelings of separation from you. How can I escape such feelings in my old age, when in youth you so kindly granted me your mercy? Once, in firm appreciation for a menial service I rendered to you, you said to me:

“So much endeavor in this material world, but when I take you home – to the spiritual world – everything will be easy and sublime.”

Srila Prabhupada, my own disciples have heard me repeat your benediction a million times over, but even repeating it a million more times will never be enough. Any other benediction in the fourteen worlds pales in comparison to the one you bestowed upon me that day.

Once, in 1976, as you sat on the lawn surrounded by your disciples in New Mayapur in France, I asked you: “If a pure devotee sees Krsna everywhere, how is Lord Caitanya, in the role of a devotee, feeling so much separation from him?”

You replied, “Yes, He is praying how you can become mad without seeing Krsna. That is the highest stage. It cannot be explained. But when you gradually go higher and higher you will understand.”

Srila Prabhupada, now in the twilight of my life, I desperately want to “go higher and higher” to understand and realize the deeper mellows of Krsna consciousness. In fact, this is why I now spend more time here in Vrindavan “just wandering,” as you once instructed a disciple who had recently arrived in this transcendental abode. And this is also why I simultaneously continue with blissful, yet rigorous and demanding, preaching to the conditioned souls in this world. The formula you gave us is clear: “Work now, samadhi later.”

The relationship between preaching and residing in Vrindavan is confirmed in the words of Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati in his epic Sri Caitanya Candramrita:

yatha yatha gaura padaravinde
vindeta bhaktim krta punya rasih
tatha tathot sarpati hrdya kasmad
radha padambhoja sudhambu rasih

“To the degree that we surrender to Lord Caitanya’s service, to that degree we acquire qualification for service to Radharani’s lotus feet in Vraja.” (Chapter 8, text 88)

With this in mind, I think the most significant realization that comes with old age is the awareness of the limited time remaining to achieve spiritual perfection. This urgency leads me to approach my spiritual practices with increased seriousness and focus. And if blessed with good health, I will continue to serve to the best of my capacity, trying to follow your example of preaching until my final breath.

Now as I traverse the later years of my life, the inevitable signs of aging make their presence known. Yet, each stage of life carries its own merits and challenges. For a devotee, old age bestows a unique blessing: the senses become weaker and subsequently, the desire for sense gratification lessens. What’s more, the spiritual knowledge that one studied in youth and applied in middle age, ripens into deep realization; jnana transforms into vijnana and becomes our most cherished possession:

na hi jnanena sadrisam
pavitram iha vidyate
tat svayam yoga samsiddhah
kalenatmani vindati

“In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who has become accomplished in the practice of devotional service enjoys this knowledge within himself in due course of time.” (Bhagavad-gita 4.38)

Srila Prabhupada, as I stand on the precipice of another year without your physical association, I am reminded of the immense responsibility that comes with being your disciple. The world, now more than ever, is in dire need of the profound wisdom you imparted, and I am committed to carrying the torch of your teachings with the same fervor and dedication that you displayed throughout your extraordinary life.

So today, on this forty-sixth observance of your disappearance day, I offer my heartfelt gratitude for your boundless mercy, unwavering guidance, and profound love. Your divine legacy lives on, and I am eternally indebted for the opportunity to serve at your lotus feet.

“Having accepted the renounced order of life my home is this Vrindavan forest. My bed is the soft dust of Vrindavan. The sky of Vrindavan is my blanket and the flowering creepers of Vrindavan are my only belongings. The moon over Vrindavan is the lamp of my hopes and my chanting beads are counting the days until I meet you again.”

Srila Prabhupada, I am and will forever be,

Your eternal servant,
Indradyumna Swami

The Chariot of the Mind by Govinda Dasa

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I have arrived in Sridam Mayapur for a one-week visit.

śrī-pada-kamala-sudhā-rasa-pāne

śrī-vigraha-guṇa-gaṇa kari gāne

śrī-mukha-vacana-śravaṇa-anuṣaṅgī

anubhavi kata bhela prema-taraṅgī

By drinking the nectarean honey of the lotus feet of Sri Gaura, by singing the glories of Sri Gaura’s deity, by listening to the instructions of Sri Gaura, and by associating with devotees who follow his instructions, so many fortunate individuals experienced the joyous waves of Prema.

re mana! kāhe karasi anutāpe

pahuṁka pratāpa-mantra karu jāpe

O mind! Why do you keep burning repeatedly in the fire of worldliness? Simply keep chanting the mantra of your dear Lord.

yo kichu vicāri mano-rathe caḍabi

pahuṁka caraṇa-yuga sārathi karabi

Think carefully about the ultimate aim of your life and then climb on the chariot of the [purified] mind. Make the feet of Lord Gaura your charioteer.

ratha-rohana karu prāṇa-turaṅga

āśā-pāśa jori naha bhaṅga

Engage your five life-airs (prāṇa, apāna, udāna, vayāna and samāna) as the five horses driving this chariot. Let āśā, the hope of attaining the Lord, be the strong rope controlling these horses so that the chariot may never break down.

līlā-jaladhi tīre calu dhāī

prema-taraṅge aṅga avagāī

Using this chariot, go quickly towards the shore of the unlimited ocean of the Lord’s loving pastimes. Having reached there, bathe thoroughly in the waves of this ocean of Prema.

rasa-taraṅgī saṅgī hari-dāse

rati-maṇi deī puraba abhilāṣe

In this ocean, you will swim along with other servants of Hari who are delighting in the waves of bhakti-rasa. These servants of Hari will fetch you the rare jewel of Prema from the depths of this ocean and will thus fulfill your most cherished desire.

so rasa-jaladhi mājhe maṇi-geha

tahiṁ rahu gori suśyāmera deha

In the middle of that ocean of bhakti-rasa is a house decorated with precious jewels in which brilliant complexioned Radha and dark-complexioned Syam reside.

sārathi leī milāyaba tāya

govinda-dāsa gaura-guṇa gāya

The charioteer, Lord Gaura’s lotus feet, will help you meet these two, Radha and Shyam. It is for this reason that Govinda Das sings the glories of Gaura.

[ The Chariot of the Mind,

By the medieval poet, Govinda Dasa

from Vaiṣṇava-padāvalī, fourth edition ]

Navadvipa Satakam

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Шрила Прабодхананда Сарасвати раскрывает тайну Навадвипа-дхамы в своей «Навадвипа шатаке» (стих 78):

«Если поклоняешься девяти лесам (девяти островам Навадвипы), лес Враджа твой.
Если не поклоняшься тем девяти лесам, лес Враджа остается в стороне…

«Если поклоняешься сыну брахмана (то есть Гауранге), то знаток любви Враджа (Кришна) твой.
Если не поклоняешься тому сыну брахмана, Кришна никогда твоим не будет».

арадхитам нава-ванам враджа-кананам те
нарадхитам нава-ванам враджа эва дуре
арадхито двиджа-суто враджа-нагарас те
нарадхито двиджа-суто на тавеха кришнах

 

Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati reveals the secret of Navadvipa-dhama in his Navadvipa Satakam (verse 78):

“If the nine forests ( the 9 islands of Navadwip ) are worshiped by you, then the forest of Vraja is yours. If the nine forests (the 9 islands of Navadwip) are not worshipped by you, then the same Vraja forest stays away ….

“If the son of the brahmana (i.e. Gauranga) is worshipped by you then the expert lover of Vraja (Krishna) is yours. If the son of the brahmana (i.e. Gauranga) is not worshipped by you then Krishna is never yours.”

aradhitam nava-vanam vraja-kananam te
naradhitam nava-vanam vraja eva dure
aradhito dvija-suto vraja-nagaras te
naradhito dvija-suto na taveha krsnah

 

 

 

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Из Гарга-самхиты

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Темного цвета тамала с лозой в золотистом цветении,

туча на горизонте в ярких проблесках молний

иль каменистый утес с золотого цвета прожилкой, –

таким были Шри Хари и прекраснейшая Радхарани.

~ Гарга Самхита 15.40

 

As a tamala tree with a vine of golden flowers,
as a dark cloud with a lightning flash,
and as a dark mountain with a mine of nikasha stones,
so Lord Hari was with beautiful Sri Radha.

~Garga Samhita 15.40

 

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A Quote Most dear To My Heart / Самая дорогая моему сердцу цитата

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“Когда я принял отреченный образ жизни, моим домом стал лес Вриндавана. Моя кровать – мягкая пыль Вриндавана. Небо Вриндавана – мой кров, а цветущие лианы Вриндавана – мои единственные вещи. Луна над Вриндаваном – светильник моих надежд, а мои четки для воспевания отсчитывают дни до встречи с Божественной Четой, Шри Радхой и Шри Кришной”.

[Лалита Кишори, средневековый поэт-вайшнав]

“Having accepted the renounced order of life, my home is this Vrindavan forest. My bed is the soft dust of Vrindavan. The sky of Vrindavan is my blanket and the flowering creepers of Vrindavan are my only belongings. The moon over Vrindavan is the lamp of my hopes and my chanting beads are counting the days until I meet the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha and Krsna.”

[ Lalita Kishori, a medieval Vaisnava Poet ]

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Гопинатх – господин гопи !

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Это я могу, Шрила Прабхупада!

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После того, как Прабхупада закончил класс Бхагавад-Гиты, одна дама подняла руку. У нее был вопрос. Она спросила:
–  В Бхагавад-гите говорится, что если в момент смерти думать о Кришне, то отправишься к Кришне. Теперь вопрос: а если я подумаю о вас в момент смерти? Будет такой же эффект?
Прабхупада ответил не сразу. Он закрыл глаза на две-три секунды, как будто искал ответ.
Потом улыбнулся и сказал:
–  Очень мило с вашей стороны. Да, будет тот же эффект.
[ воспоминания о Шриле Прабхупаде, Джая Гауранга даса ]

 

Склоняюсь пред Тобой

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Царевна жертвоприношений, царевна праведных деяний, царевна девов,
Царевна знаний из трех Вед, царевна доказательств и всего познанья,
Царица главной из богинь удачи *, царица Кшамы **, царевна леса счастья Вриндавана,
Царевна Враджа, повелительница Враджа, Шри Радхика, – склоняюсь пред Тобой.
[ «Шри Шри Радха-крипа-катакша-става-раджа», стих 12 ]

______________

* Лакшми

** Бху, всепрощенье (подробности по ссылке https://traveling-monk.appspot.com/radha-kripa-kataksha-stava-raja/ – прим. перев.)

“O queen of Vedic sacrifices, O queen of pious activities, O queen of the material world, O queen of the demigods, O queen of Vedic scholarship, O queen of knowledge, O queen of the goddesses of fortune, O queen of patience, O queen of Vrindavan – the forest of happiness, O queen of Vraja, O empress of Vraja, O Sri Radhika, obeisances to You!”
[ Sri Sri Radha-kripa-kataksa-stava-raja, verse 12 ]

Из Гарга-самхиты

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В Гарга-самхите есть один красивый разговор Нанды Махараджи и Шримати Радхарани.

Однажды в одном из главных лесов Вриндавана, Бхандираване, их пути пересеклись.

Шримати Радхарани сказала:

«О! почтеннейший… Эту мою божественную форму увидеть очень трудно.
Но для того, кто ее видит, нет ничего невозможного. Проси Меня о благословении».

Склонив голову, Нанда Махарадж с полным смирением произнес :

йади прасаннаси тада бхавен мне
бхактир дридха кау ювайох падабже
сатам ча бхактис тава бхакти-бхаджам
сангха саде ме юга юге ча

«Могу ли я просить об извечной непоколебимой преданности Тебе и Кришне?
Чтобы мне всегда жить в обществе Ваших чистых преданных,
и чтобы я был предан им – так же, как Вам обоим?»

“Да будет так!” – ответила Шримати Радхарани, богиня Вриндавана.

[ Гарга-самхита, Песнь первая, том третий, глава 16, текст 11 ]

 


 

In the Garga-samhita there is a beautiful exchange between Nanda Maharaja and Srimati Radharani as they cross paths in Bhandiravan, one of the principle forests of Vrindavan:

Srimati Radharani spoke: “O noble one! This divine form of Mine is very difficult to see, but for one who has seen it, nothing is out of reach. Ask Me for a boon!”

Bowing his head, Nanda Maharaja humbly replied:

yadi prasannasi tada bhaven me
bhaktir drdha kau yuvayoh padabje
satam ca bhaktis tava bhakti-bhajam
sangha sada me ‘tha yuge yuge ca

“Millennium after millennium, may I have firm devotion to You and Krishna. May I always live in the company of Your pure devotees and may my devotion to them equal my devotion to both of You.”

“So be it!” said Srimati Radharani, Vrindavan’s queen.

[ Garga Samhita, Canto One, Volume Three, Chapter 16, Text 11 ]

 

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Bhagavata-pradhana / Бхагавата-прадхана

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«Всевышний настолько добр к обусловленным душам, что, если они обращаются к Нему по Имени – даже произнеся Его святое имя неумышленно или неохотно, Господь становится предрасположен к тому, чтобы уничтожить бесчисленные греховные реакции в их сердцах. Поэтому, когда преданный, принявший прибежище лотосных стоп Кришны, с неподдельной любовью воспевает Его святое имя, Господь ни за что не оставит его сердца. Кто подобным образом связал Всевышнего Господа в своем сердце узами любви, становится известен как бхагавата-прадхана, самый возвышенный преданный Господа».

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind to the conditioned souls that if they call upon Him by speaking His holy…

Posted by Indradyumna Swami on Monday, February 25, 2019
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