
On Saturday, July 14, about forty devotees gathered at Giriraj Swami’s ashram in Carpinteria to glorify two stalwart servants of Srila Prabhupada: His Holiness Sridhar Swami and His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami. Giriraj Swami introduced the program with an explanation, based on authority, of the value of remembering Vaisnavas. Then Mayapur das, Sridhar Swami’s personal assistant for many years, spoke about the importance of surrendering to the order of guru–however difficult it may be–and the benefit of such selfless service, with examples from his experiences with Sridhar Swami. Then two wonderful disciples of Tamal Krishna Goswami from Dallas, Dharma das and Padma dasi, talked about the two great souls, who were also dear friends. Kuntidevi discussed her experiences with Sridhar Swami and Tamal Krishna Goswami in India and Santa Barbara, and Sarvatma shared some thoughts and led the devotees in Sri Harer-namastaka, a special song that he sang for Sridhar Swami in Mayapur. Then Niranjana Swami spoke, quoting from his talk on Sridhar Swami’s disappearance day and his offering for Tamal Krishna Goswami’s Vyasa-puja, inspiring everyone with feelings of separation and love. And finally Giriraj Swami spoke, reflecting on points from the other talks. (We hope to make transcripts available in due course.) The program concluded with kirtan, led by Niranjana Swami, and prasad, offered for the pleasure of these two most powerful preachers and staunch servants of Srila Prabhupada.
Here are some images of the occasion:
