Deity Installation Ceremony

Giriraj Swami: . . . I will say a few words [audio cut] He used to take care of me like an older brother. And even in his physical separation he continues to do so. Srila Prabhupada has explained that there are two processes. There is bhāgavata- mārga and pañcarātrika-vidhi. Bhāgavata- mārga basically means hearing and chanting about Bhagavān as in scriptures like Bhāgavata-Purana, Bhagavad-gītā, and pañcarātrika-vidhi is deity worship based on Narada-Pañcarātra. 

So although in principle bhāgavata-mārga alone is sufficient but generally Srila Prabhupada recommended we follow both paths and he gave the example of the train— that the train runs on two tracks. If the train only has one track to run on it may become derailed. So similarly he gave us both lines, bhāgavata-mārga and pañcarātrika-vidhi, and we continue to follow the same system. So each disciple of Srila Prabhupada and others of course in disciplic succession have their own specific service. In the beginning, brahmacārī gurukula vasan dānto guror hitam, one serves the guru as a menial servant in the gurukula but later one receives specific instructions from the spiritual master or specific inspiration from the spiritual master and then one develops his or her own specific service. 

So in my case quite early in my devotional service Srila Prabhupada instructed me to write and I would write articles for Back to Godhead and other publications. It was an occasional activity but now being here I have had the opportunity to write more but in the process of writing editing is very important and during my last visit to Dallas, Tamal Krishna Goswami’s brother, Bhakta Carl Herzig met me there and Carl actually was taught writing at UCSB many years ago. Now he is a full professor at (St Ambrose college in Iowa?), professor of English and writing. So he sort of—it was a funny thing. It almost reminded me of what was going on between Professor Barbara Holdrege and Tamal Krishna Goswami in the sense that she would hear him speak at the American Academy of Religion and may be have some appreciation for him and he would hear her speak and he would have some appreciation for her but they never actually met and then finally our godbrother and her former classmate at Harvard, Garuda dasa introduced them. So this was quite the same. I knew Bhakta Carl and he knew me but all the time I was thinking I am writing he must know I need an editor, why isn’t he volunteering and Carl was thinking, “You know I edited Tamal Krishna Goswami’s books. I teach writing, why is he not asking me to help him. So this went on for about two years and then finally when we met in Dallas the last time it sort of all came out. I said, “Well I didn’t want to ask because I thought you might not be available. You might feel awkward if I ask you and you couldn’t do it. And he said, “Well I thought you would offer.” He said, “I didn’t want to offer. I didn’t want to be so presumptuous as to suppose I could improve upon what you are already doing. So we both realized what was happening and since then we have been working together and so I take this as Tamal Krishna Goswami’s mercy upon me to provide such a good editor, not just an editor, I mean such a good friend. So that is bhāgavata-mārga and now he has sent through his disciple to my disciple these deities, Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai. So there we have the pañcarātrika-mārga and so he is helping us on both tracks. 

Also being pretty much confined to Santa Barbara or to Southern California or to the Western United States, I haven’t been able to go to India and recently life sized deities of the Pancha-tattva were installed in Mayapur. There is also a great history there. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s intimate associate just like His older brother was Nityananda Prabhu and in terms of tattva Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna and Nityananda Prabhu is Balarama. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left the world first, not really left the world because He is God. So He is always everywhere but He wound up His manifest pastimes first and Nityananda Prabhu who is considered the original spiritual master just as Lord Balarama is considered the original spiritual master, the spiritual master has two functions or services. One is he give knowledge of God and the other is he gives service to God. So Nityananda Prabhu, the scriptures explain that when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was present His personal presence, His human like presence overwhelmed the consciousness of the devotees and they were not able to recognize fully His divine opulences. So anyway Nityananda Prabhu predicted, desired and predicted that a wonderful temple, adbhuta mandir would rise up in Mayapur for the glory of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and of course the same desire has passed through disciplic succession, through paramparā and about, may be, a hundred and twenty years ago or so, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura he had a vision of the adbhuta mandir in Mayapur and he predicted that a great personality would travel throughout the world unrestrictedly and preach the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the result would be that people from all over the world would become devotees of Krishna and come to Mayapur dhāma and chant Hare Krishna together and modern devotees have commented that Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s prediction was made before the invention of the aero planes. So the prediction that some great soul would come and move freely throughout the world is very remarkable.

So Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also had a vision of the adbhuta mandir. He desired it and so the same desire came through disciplic succession to his son and śikṣā disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and then from him to Srila Prabhupada and from Srila Prabhupada to us and we are quite determined and hopeful to actually realize this vision and desire and prediction. So to encourage the devotees, this year which is the hundred and eighth birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada they installed the life size Pancha-tattva deities that will be the main deities in the adbhuta mandir. So we were getting reports about the ecstasy, we were seeing photos of the ceremonies and we were thinking why weren’t we there? What are we doing here? So during the abhiseka I was feeling that the deities were saying, “You were lamenting because you were not there, now We have come here to accept your service.” And as Maharaja said, all devotional activities are enhanced by the association of other devotees and by loving relationships among the devotees. So it was especially nice to do the abhiseka with His Holiness Indradyumna Swami Maharaja and especially when Sri Prahlada was giving us each a lot of different substance at the same time. He would do Gaura and I would do Nitai and then I would do Gaura and he would do Nitai. It reminded me of the verse from Caitanya-caritāmṛta that Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda are like one soul in two bodies and if one discriminates between Them he commits an offence. If someone—yes I thought it was nice to be serving the two of Them equally and you know I do believe that the presence of Their Lordships will remind us of Their mission in general to expand the saṅkīrtana movement throughout the world and also of our great challenge to build the wonderful temple in Mayapur. 

Another dear godbrother of ours, His Holiness Śrīdhara Swami Maharaja is in Mayapur and he has been encouraging me and devotees throughout the world to work for the adbhuta mandir in Mayapur and we all three of us Tamal Krishna Goswami, Śrīdhara Swami and I did service in Bombay for many years together. So well that is another story but he has been sick. He has been diagnosed with liver cancer. The doctor said he could leave at any time. So he came to Vancouver to see if he could get a liver transplant but the cancer had spread so much that he was ineligible. So he decided he would go to Mayapur and – So his first desire was to live to get to Mayapur, second desire was to live to see the installation of the Pancha-tattva, his third desire was to live until Gaura-Purnima and then after that anything. So now we have passed Gaura-Purnima and he is full of enthusiasm and I spoke to him two days ago and now his desires are to recover, go to the New York Ratha-yatra and then come to Santa Barbara. We have to see what happens. 

But I also have been thinking of a statement that Srila Prabhupada made about Gaura-Nitai because Tamal Krishna Goswami developed a wonderful program where he had busses traveling all over the United States, the Radha-Damodara Party, big greyhound busses filled with books, filled with devotees, like an army and he had the idea of installing deities in the busses, having like traveling temples and he asked Srila Prabhupada about Gaura-Nitai. Prabhupada said yes Gaura-Nitai increases the enthusiasm, so I have been thinking of that, enthusiasm to preach, to chant, to hear, to dance, to build the temple, to do everything that is part of Krishna consciousness and to associate with each other and to invite new people. So we are blessed that They have come here to bestow Their mercy upon us and we pray that we can of course we will serve Them to our capacity but we pray especially that we will be able to invite more and more people to come and see Them and serve Them. Hare Krishna!

So maybe we will have a little kirtan in anticipation. . .

Mother Krishna Bhamini: Gaura-Nitai are so beautiful. You may have many many pilgrims coming here that you won’t be able to stay away. [Laughter]

Indradyumna Maharaja: They are all spending the night Maharaja! There will be big maṅgala-ārati tomorrow morning. [Laughter]