Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s Disappearance Day

Giriraj Swami: Today we are observing the divine disappearance day of Sri Srimad Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja. He left this world on this date or actually yesterday four years ago in the year 2005. We shall read one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the disappearance of the spiritual master and then we shall discuss more specifically about His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-eight: “Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life.”

TEXT 48

uttiṣṭhottiṣṭha rājarṣe

imām udadhi-mekhalām

dasyubhyaḥ kṣatra-bandhubhyo

bibhyatīṁ pātum arhasi

TRANSLATION

O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surrounded by water and infested with rogues and so-called kings. This world is very much afraid, and it is your duty to protect her.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Whenever an ācārya comes, following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gītā. Religion means abiding by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Religious principles begin from the time one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the ācārya’s duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow down before the Supreme Lord. One executes the religious principles by rendering devotional service, specifically the nine items like hearing, chanting and remembering. Unfortunately, when the ācārya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svāmīs, yogīs, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on. Actually, human life is meant for executing the orders of the Supreme Lord, and this is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.34):

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me and become My devotee. Offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.”

The main business of human society is to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at all times, to become His devotees, to worship the Supreme Lord and to bow down before Him. The ācārya, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the ācārya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. At the present moment practically the entire world is afraid of rogues and nondevotees; therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is started to save the world from irreligious principles. Everyone should cooperate with this movement in order to bring about actual peace and happiness in the world.

COMMENT

This section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes a king and his wife who had entered the vanaprastha ashram and gone to the forest to perform austerities and realize God. At a certain stage the king left his body. It became clear by the symptoms that the king had left his body, and so his widow began to cry piteously in the forest over the departure of her husband. Srila Prabhupada, following the previous acharyas, explains in the purport that figuratively the king is the spiritual master and the widow or wife of the king is the disciple of the spiritual master.

So here the widow is praying for her husband to get up and protect the world from rogues and so-called kings. Of course it turned out that he actually had left his body and that he would not return to his body. He would not return in the same form in which she had known him. But still, the principle of being protected by the instructions of the acharya continues even after the disappearance, and the instructions in essence are that one should surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, and become His devotee—maná-maná—always think of Him, worship Him, and bow down to Him.

It is interesting that in the purport Srila Prabhupada states, “It is the acharya’s duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow down before the Supreme Lord.” We present the philosophy or the acharya presents the system, but it is also his duty to induce people to actually follow. Thus the acharyas thinks of the ways and means by which he can induce people to surrender unto the Supreme Lord.

One example that is prominent in our line is that of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a teacher in Navadvipa, but His own students misunderstood Him and criticized Him. So Lord Chaitanya thought, As long as they disrespect Me, as long as they criticize Me, they will not be able to be delivered. So He thought deeply. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta describes that He considered deeply what to do about the situation and after due consideration He decided to accept the renounced order of life, to take sannyasa, because in Vedic culture everyone in every varna and ashram offers respects to a sannyasa.

Srila Prabhupada explains that every acharya must think of the ways and means by which he can propagate His mission. So His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, following in the same line, also considered how to induce people to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and in doing so, like every acharya, he preserved the basic principles of Krishna consciousness, but he adjusted the presentation to attract people and induce people to actually take up the process of Krishna consciousness.

When I first heard of some of Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s preaching specifically to members of the Black community, I was a little surprised because I’d never heard anyone preach like that. Srila Prabhupada at least superficially never preached like that. So I was a little surprised and I wondered what was actually going on. But then I had the opportunity to visit Maharaja’s institution in Washington DC, IFAST, the Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology, and meet some of the devotees who had come to Krishna consciousness by his preaching. I was extremely impressed by them, extremely impressed. They were very intelligent, sincere, competent, respectful. They were just wonderful. It was just so nice to be there with them. In fact as it was, I had gone there with His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami. After attending the morning program and just seeing the devotees there, seeing the organization, we had breakfast and later lunch with His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and he explained some of his unique approach. He told us that he had people chanting sixteen rounds and following the four principles, engaging in the service of Krishna and the worship of Krishna for months, if not years, before they even knew that such as thing as the Hare Krishna movement existed. So I thought, Wow! [laughter] How did he do that? How does he do that?

But as it is said, and Prabhupada himself made many innovations compared of his godbrothers, and some of his godbrothers criticized him. They thought he wasn’t following strictly or he was deviating. They had certain misconceptions about Srila Prabhupada, but Srila Prabhupada would say, phalena paricīyate, you have to judge by the result, and we can see the result of Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s preaching at IFAST, the people who had joined, the caliber of the people, and they way in which they have been trained and engaged. It was striking.

In 1980 the Sri Sri Radha-Radhanatha Temple of Understanding in Durban, South Africa opened. It is a beautiful temple in a way similar to Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s preaching in the sense that it contains some of the basic elements of a Vedic temple with domes and so on, but at the same time it used unique materials and had a unique design. The basic elements were there, but it was a combination of tradition temple architecture and modern design with modern materials.

South Africa was under the regime of apartheid at the time and as Srila Prabhupada said at the first Bombay pandal, “This is the real United Nations.” They had their categories in South Africa: Whites; then they had Chinese; then they had Indians; and then they had Africans; in that order of gradation. Chinese were a minority but they were some so they also figured in the system. So we wanted to show that we—and it is a fact, it wasn’t a stage production—but we wanted people to see that we had Europeans and Indians and Africans all living together in harmony and serving together with Krishna as the center.

The construction of the temple was a major achievement and very big people in South Africa came for the opening ceremonies from these three main categories. We had the mayor of Durban, he was White. In the apartheid system they had the idea of allowing a degree of self-government to the Indians. So they had their own legislative assembly and everything and they managed their own affairs in relation to public welfare and utilities. Of course the military was in the hands of the Whites. So we had the head of the Indian legislative assembly and then we had Chief Buthelezi, he was the head of the government of the Blacks in Kwazulu and he was also an hereditary chief in the royal family of the Zulus and the Zulus are the largest tribe in South Africa. So we wanted to have a prominent African preacher. We had African devotees, but not of that caliber, so we invited His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami to come.

I was deputed to receive him when he arrived. He came wearing a Nehru jacket and a different type of cap—not the usual traditional sannyasa dress—but he was very effulgent, very bright, very friendly. He did speak very powerfully at the pandal. It was a huge tent—maybe twenty thousand people came. It was very impressive. At that time we had some quite intimate personal talks. Somehow I felt I could really trust him and open up to him. He was extraordinarily perceptive. He had a sense of what was going on. Just by looking at people he just understood.

So after he arrived he wanted to take a ride around the city. I didn’t accompany him. We were very busy preparing for the opening ceremonies and receiving guests and so on, but when I met and spoke with him, he had figured out the whole situation in South Africa. Now when you hear what he said, you might think. . . you wouldn’t because you are devotees, you wouldn’t be so foolish or offensive, but someone might think that he was in the bodily concept of life, but he wasn’t. He saw everyone as spirit soul, but he also saw that they are embodied within a gross physical body and a subtle body or mind. And he could see how their gross and subtle bodies were working. He could see how the material nature was working and that enabled him to see how to get through to them. He could understand their mood and mentality and that enabled him to see how to reciprocate with them in a way that they would appreciate him.

I’ll repeat some of the things he said and I am sure you will understand them in the right way. So he said that there are many different tribes in Africa and they have different natures and different levels of intelligence. He said the West Africans are the most intelligent and most of the Blacks in America are from West Africa. People in America have the idea that Blacks are as intelligent as the Blacks they find in America. But he said, “Actually it is not true.” And then he said, “The East Africans are the least intelligent and therefore it is hard to make them devotees, but the West Africans are much more intelligent, and therefore it is much easier to make them devotees.” Of course it is true, he made so many devotees in West Africa. And in East Africa there are so many stories, humorous stories how when Prabhupada came to Nairobi they gave his laundry to the devotees to wash and they hung the laundry on the line and then when it was time to collect the cloth, it was all missing. Nobody knew where Prabhupada’s cloth went. And then the next morning in the temple they saw on one of the devotees there was his top piece, different pieces of his cloth were turning up on the bodies of different devotees [laughter].

So then about the South Africans he said they are a little more intelligent than the East Africans, but they are not as intelligent as the West Africans. So he said, “You will be able to make some devotees, but not many. It won’t be easy.” And that’s also proven to be true.

I’ll mention this. It is personal. That was the time when it was an issue about more devotees becoming gurus. You know how devotees talk in ISKCON, so it was coming up about me, and I didn’t feel qualified, and I didn’t want to do it. I just didn’t want to do it. Somehow I discussed it—it came up with Bhakti Tirtha Swami—and I really don’t know how he gets these things. I think he talks to people. I think he gets things from talking to people as well. He had only been there for a couple of days. I proceeded to explain what I considered to be my disqualifications and then he said that the thing about me is that I really care about the devotees and the most important thing for a devotee is to feel that his or her guru really cares about him or her and isn’t just concerned about getting service out of them. So he thought that was an important qualification. And then I said, “Well, what about accepting the sinful reactions of the disciples?” He said, “Well, I deal mainly with Africans, and they really generally (talking in generalities), they really come from the lower modes. A lot of lust and greed and have engaged in many sinful activities. So sinful reactions is really something I have to be concerned about. But here you are mainly preaching to Indians. They come from more pious backgrounds so I don’t that should be such a big issue for you.”

And then we would meet in Mayapur for the annual GBC meetings and discuss many interesting talks in Mayapur. We had one talk, I actually thought of it the other day when we were talking about varnashrama-dharma, being like a social net to catch people, safety net. The idea of a safety net is like in circuses they will have a tightrope. They will have this very high rope or string or wire and the artist will walk across it, but it is so thin they could easily fall down. Or trapeze artists, they swing from one to the next and they are just flying in midair. So they will have a safety net just in case they fall. They will be caught in the next. They won’t fall to the ground and be shattered and broken.

So varnashrama-dharma is sort of the safety net. We were saying in relation to marriages that if the husband and wife are Krishna conscious that’s enough. You don’t have to worry so much about material compatibility because their Krishna consciousness will prevail over all else. Each will be in the mood of being the servant of the servant, see the other as servant of Krishna, be in the mood of being the servant of the servant. But if the couple or if one of the partners is unable to keep up the standard of Krishna consciousness or either or both are not of the proper standard of Krishna consciousness then its better if materially they are compatible in terms of culture, background, education—various qualifications.

In Mayapur I was having this discussion with His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami because we had this phenomenon of devotees racing ahead to reach the goal and then stumbling and falling, and then others not going so quickly, but not falling down, advancing more gradually. So he gave the example of climbing up a pole. He said, “You climb up a pole. You are going straight up. You are going straight to the top and you can do that if you have the strength. But the difficulty is if you lose your grip, you fall all the way down.” The other approach is, he gave the example of a winding staircase that winds around the pole, it is a much slower and a more gradual process. But at least with the staircase you take one step, it is not a big step, it is not just going up like firemen, but you are going up and you are not going back down. Even if you are not going very quickly, but at least you are making progress. And it is not that one in any absolute sense is better than another. Of course if you can go up like that—if you have the strength—you’ll reach the top faster, but there’s greater risk.

I did want to speak about his last year which was very significant, but I am thinking now maybe we could give others a chance to speak and then I could come back to discussing his last year. And the others who speak can discuss any period from when they met him or first heard about him up till the end and then I’ll speak about his last year.

We have Advaita Acharya dasa, he is a disciple of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and he was with Maharaja at the end. You can speak in whatever way you want. You can address your Guru Maharaja, offering, appreciation, prayer, and we’ll see who else would like to contribute and then I’ll pick up.

Advaita Acharya dasa: Yesterday late in the morning I was at the samadhi site of Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja. Somehow Nityananda Prabhu just showed up and we had a conversation there at the site. He was reminding me about the nature of the disappearance day of the spiritual master that it’s more internal in comparison to the appearance day. The disciples reflect on their commitment and their vows and the instructions they’ve received from their spiritual master.

That really helped me in the sense of direction how to do that, to honor such a day. We hear the importance of the instructions and the importance of vāṇī, but there is a lot to be said about vapuḥ, the personal, physical association, because the disappearance day is the day when we should try to muster out those feelings of separation from our spiritual masters, and that is from their physical form that is not present.

That is actually their greatest gift to us by departing from our sight. They instill that feeling, the feeling of separation. Our acharyas actually mention that if somehow you hear or you know that there is such a place where you can actually get that, you go immediately, pay any price and get it, because that is their final gift to us. And those feelings of separation from their physical form from them will take us across.

Sometimes devotional service is compared to a river. The river has two shores. So when they leave they go across and they leave us on this shore, on this bank of the river, but it is still the same river. As long as we are in touch with bhakti or devotion, as long as we are engaged in devotional service, we will be connected. A genuine, sincere disciple or follower, he will always feel the presence. Simultaneously he will have those feelings of separation and simultaneously he will feel the presence. Just like Srila Prabhupada also, he was very strong, following Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Gosvami Maharaja and he would say, “Never was there a time when I did not the presence of my Guru Maharaja.” Why? Because he was fully immersed in following his instructions, the vāṇī. It is to be worshiped, keeping it on top of our head at all times. That will bring about the presence while we are simultaneously feeling the separation as well.

Yesterday I was thankful for the conversation that I had with Nityananda Prabhu there at the samadhi site and also in the evening I was thankful to His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja who actually suggested the program today that he is facilitating. In my heart I am very grateful because it gives me the opportunity to really look into my commitment, the instructions that I received that will help me in the time that it is remaining in this lifetime or until the next year, the next occasion.

Because he was touring a lot—he had these world tours which would take a couple of months—in my heart, in my mind, although it is four years ago, it looks like he just went on another tour. We will be meeting again. Sometime soon he will be coming back, but that is kind of the feeling that he just went for another tour and it is just a question of time that we will be getting another darshan.

After the departure I did have a period that, like many disciples, I had a period of, they didn’t have the reasons to continue, reasons to live. They wanted to go and follow the spiritual master, but it was not possible. And it was difficult, but then the support system of godfamily, the support system of devotee, sadhu-saṅga, the instructions, the mission that we have been given to go on with this preaching and Krishna consciousness is what remains until the time we get that opportunity again to be with our spiritual masters. Because like I said it is just now coming. It is a finite time, whatever remains, a couple of years for the time of another darshan. However Krishna decides for us to remain in these bodies. It is actually a glorious opportunity that we have been given to continue their legacy. That’s anyway the only thing we have.

I was personally very inspired also at the day of your Vyasa-puja celebration here in Dallas because you shared those same feelings of separation and it did come out in major ways in every offering. Every devotee was sharing very deeply and I could so easily relate to it. I could actually hear what they were saying because it really rings in my heart being in the same space and appreciating His Holiness Tamal Krishna Maharaja who was very instrumental although I never met Maharaja. Being and serving in Gita-nagari dhāma for many years I could appreciate Maharaja in so many different ways from the point of the presiding Deities there, Sri Sri Radha-Damodara, that are my iṣṭa-deva or the Deities I served first, the first Deities I served—first and last—with the exception of few when I was a guest at some projects I served. But these Deities, They really entered my heart because I served Them for many years. From that point Tamal Krishna Maharaja was very much present there although I never met him. And also from the point of this whole responsibility that His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja took, it was under the request of His Holiness Tamal Krishna Maharaja that he takes on the Gita-nagari project in the early or mid nineties. So in one sense it was all his mercy and although I never met Maharaja I feel connected with the Deities and also the project that I served my initiating spiritual master, Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja.

And there many, many wonderful things happened. We laughed together. We cried together. He always referred to Gita-nagari as his home, as the place where he will retreat after his tours and his being in the frontline. He is a spiritual warrior, coming and also writing, reflecting, writing, reloading his ammunition and again going out, retreating, writing, reflecting. Actually there is a series of the reflections and sacred teachings in Spiritual Warrior that it is more outreach. Reflections are more for the in-house devotees. And also the Beggar series are straight on prayers to the Lord and they are very generic, very universal. Regardless of your background, any person actually could relate to them, because they are just prayers to the Lord. Of course the names, they come up, but wonderful prayers where he is addressing the Lord.

Actually he used to write every day as a brahmachari and also as a sannyasi, a letter to Srila Prabhupada. He would write in the mood as this was the last day in Srila Prabhupada’s service. So from the early days he was cultivating this mood of a renunciate and it is the reality we live in and it is the mentality that will actually facilitate that grateful heart because who can guarantee. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. So this might be the last day of our service, of our opportunity for service. So what will be our mood, what will be our mentality, how would we chant Hare Krishna, how would we perceive the Vaishnavas. So he would cultivate that by writing the letter pretty much in that mood on a daily basis. I think those letters are still there. I’m now sure if they will be published but they are there I believe at the Institute.

Like many devotees I was also blown away by his appearance and his style, blown away in the same way and at the same time very attracted. Just the way he was serving his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, there was something about it. The main feature was the degree he cared for others, the degree he actually was extending himself in a compassionate mood. He was really extending himself. I saw it over and over again how much he actually cared for the children, how much he cared for the mothers, how much he cared for the community, and how much he sacrificed for our movement. He was really extending himself. He was very unorthodox, very unconventional. He didn’t care about externals like Giriraj Maharaja was saying—whatever would work. He was a spiritual utilitarian. He wasn’t a slave of conformity, of external things. He would be able to take the essence and just communicate in the appropriate way. He was effective in many ways. He reached out not only to the African community, but in addition also in Europe he became active in the late nineties and also travelled to Russia many times—really one big international family. Australia.

Those festivals in Gita-nagari, they were just amazing festivals because people would come from all around the world and celebrate Krishna consciousness. Memorial Day weekend was a main happening, a lot of initiations there in Gita-nagari. That is where I also received first and second. We would go on bike rides with him in Gita-nagari also—informal settings. End up in a swimming pool, some neighbor’s swimming pool. It was actually a devotee neighbor so it was okay. He would nurture this community mood in so many different ways that you wouldn’t expect from a spiritual master. He would really come down—get the real dirt—literally come down also to the garden and just be one of us, but he would also be expert to remind you that, “Don’t forget. I am still your spiritual master.”

Once he called me to give him some harmonium lessons. I don’t know. It was very unusual. I wouldn’t expect him to have that desire and later I realized it was mainly because of me. He wanted to show me something that will unfold later in the same story. So there was a phone call and he said, “Would you have time?” And he would always address me surprisingly, he was always addressing me as “Prabhu”—and not only me, but many. It was just his mood. He would respect. He would say, “Prabhu, how’s your schedule today?” He was always considerate of Krishna coming first, “They are serving. They have their projects.” “So how is your schedule today? Would you have time?” That would always make me uncomfortable, but at the same time make me appreciate him even more because he was putting Krishna first always. I was thinking, My goodness, whatever you say Guru Maharaja. I can come now. But now he will actually insist on an appropriate time.

So we scheduled something. It was the first lesson. I was showing him some basic notes there at the house in Gita-nagari, in his humble abode, and then he was trying to do that. But at one point as he was trying I tried to, because something was going wrong, I tried to correct him. In my foolishness I went and tried to do that, but he just looked at me. From that look I actually understood that was the wrong thing to do. He didn’t say anything, but just by looking at me, he communicated, “I am trying now and please don’t forget. I appreciate that you are here showing me, but you shouldn’t forget I am still your spiritual master. Let me try because I am still trying.” So I backed up immediately.

He was looking forward to the second lesson, but it never really happened. I think for the second lesson we all will have to wait a little longer. I don’t know how long, but some time. It was many years of service in association. Actually I spent almost ten years in Gita-nagari serving in many capacities.

I believe the others maybe who would like to share and still would like to hear from the devotees who during his closing, his Antya-līlā, his closing pastimes, have brought the small Deities of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara and there was also wonderful, very, very surcharged festival, very moving. Lord Jagannatha also visited at that time when he couldn’t go, he couldn’t move. He was in his nirjana-bhajan. Lord Jagannatha from Baltimore, that is Lord Jagannatha that is brought traditionally for New York Ratha-yatra that he would always attend. He would always be there year after year. You knew Maharaja will be attending New York Ratha-yatra. He was part of the festival. But that year of course, year 2005, he couldn’t come. So the pujari—I am not sure if it was before Ratha-yatra or after Ratha-yatra—had a dream of Lord Jagannatha coming to him saying, “You take Me to Gita-nagari because I want to see My devotee, Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja, who couldn’t come this year.”

So immediately the arrangements were made and Jagannatha was put in a van, one of those vans, station wagons where the side door is open, like a Toyota Sayana. The side door is open so there was Jagannatha, Baladeva. It was a mobile altar, altar on wheels. So sure enough that morning they made arrangement. Baltimore to Gita-nagari is maybe three hours. They pulled in. Nobody knew that Jagannatha was coming. Every day something was happening of that nature, very spontaneously. Pretty much every day was a festival in those closing days. His Holiness Radhanath Swami was there in the last four months also. There was a big celebration at the house. The car pulled in. Maharaja was brought out. The side door opened. There were pictures also, just looking at the exchange they were having. It was so tangible. It was so vivid, the exchange between the Lord and His devotee. It was very real.

Actually that day also I received one of the last instructions because we were chanting when Lord Jagannatha came. It was during the closing Nṛsiṁha prayers right after he came out because he addressed the devotees in front of Lord Jagannatha. He spoke. But when I was chanting I didn’t notice he came so it was kind of an abrupt stop because devotees were telling me, “Look, Maharaja.” I didn’t notice that he had come out because I was playing the mridanga. So when the devotees told me to stop then I realized I should have stopped earlier. So it was abrupt. I just abruptly stopped, but he looked at me and you mentioned he was very perceptive of what was going on. So he looked at me and he realized that I was perhaps in the mood of thinking that I had committed aparādha, but he just fanned that spark saying that, “You keep on chanting enthusiastically,” which I did, but later on. The kirtan stopped and he addressed the devotees. But he was making a point to me personally that I should take that as the way of connecting with him because somehow he appreciated. A couple of times he was kind to mention. He appreciated that.

Candravali dasi: It was an amazing pilgrimage to see Bhakti Tirtha Swami and how it all started was my godsister Pada-dhuli had heard that Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s health was deteriorating very fast and somehow she knew that Tamal Krishna Maharaja had wanted to go and see Bhakti Tirtha Swami, but he never got a chance to go to Gita-nagari before his final days. So she felt we should go and take Sri Sri Radha-Damodara to Gita-nagari on behalf of Srila Gurudeva and Bhakti Tirtha Swami would really like that.

So we were all in the pujari room, scheming on a Friday morning how to do this, because we wanted to leave the very next morning. Somehow or the other we got it all together to go. It was myself, Pada-dhuli and her husband Rasikendra, and Sri Radhika and her sister, Bhakti-lata and Bhakti-lata’s husband, Shital. So we got our tickets somehow or other overnight—not bad tickets. We went to the airport. Then we got to Philadelphia and rented a car and drove to Gita-nagari.

We got there on Saturday evening and we tried to see Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja, but his servants said that there were too many other devotees ahead of us. So we had to wait until the next day. We got settled in, got our rooms and everything. The next morning after breakfast we came straight away and they told us again, “Maharaja is too weak, but we will try to make an appointment for you for later. Come back after lunch.”

So we came back after lunch and then they said, “No, Maharaja is too weak. He is not going to see anybody.” Because he had only been seeing devotees like Radhanath Maharaja and Vakresvara Pandita Prabhu and other higher ups and his servants. So we waited and waited. We were reading his books and waited and waited. Finally we decided we would just have a bhajan. So Sri Radhika started leading and we chanted for about forty-five minutes very enthusiastically because she has this voice that can take you straight to Vrindavan-dhama. One of the servants came out and asked, “Maharaja wants to know who is chanting.” So we told him that we were devotees from Dallas and that we had brought Radha-Damodara for him to take darshan.

So they went back in and told him. And then about ten minutes later the servant came out and said, “Maharaja is coming out.” And everyone went, “Huh,” because he had not been out for maybe a month I think. I am not really sure of the exact time, but I know it had been a long time and a lot of his disciples had not seen him at all. So about thirty minutes later Maharaja came out and he was in a rocking chair. They held him up in the air because his bones were so fragile. They held him up in the air carefully and they brought him and sat him down right by Radha-Damodara so that he could take darshan. The bhajan was going on and tears were just rolling down his eyes. He was just shaking his head like this. Tears were just rolling and rolling. This went on for about thirty minutes and everyone was just in ecstasy because they hadn’t seen him for so long and the kirtan was just escalating and escalating and everyone was just chanting with all their heart and soul.

Finally when the kirtan ended he said these words which I wrote down at that time that he had to whisper because he was so weak. So he said, “This chanting is amazing. Krishna hears our heart. He hears our prayers. This chanting was from the heart. Krishna does listen to chanting from the heart. Krishna has His plan. His plan is also best for our hearts.” And then he said the departure of Sridhar Swami, Tamal Krishna Maharaja, and Gour Govinda Maharaja was very exemplary because these devotees only had spiritual desires and he was sure that they had developed kṛṣṇa-prema. “There are long-term prayers and short-term prayers. We have to expand our long-term prayers in such a way that’s best to expand our hearts.”

And then he thanked all of us for coming and bringing Radha-Damodara for him to take darshan and he was also remembering Tamal Krishna Maharaja and thanking us for bringing Radha-Damodara on his behalf.

So then they took him back in and we all left feeling very ecstatic that we had had such a nice experience with him.

So the next morning after breakfast we came back again because our flight was to leave around six o’clock that evening and we would have to drive back to Philadelphia in order to catch the plane. So we went and sat in the temple room and chanted again. About fifteen minutes later some servant came out and said, “He wants you to come in. He wants you to come into his room.” And then everyone went again, “Huh,” because no one had been in his room for so many days. No one had been in his room other than the ones that I had told you.

So we came in and he was lying on his bed. We brought all the instruments and everything and then we had this really soft chanting going on. Sri Radhika was chanting the melodies from Mother Kirtida when Mother Kirtida was departing. Everyone was just in tears and the chanting went on for an hour and a half. And then after the chanting ended, because the servants were saying that Maharaja had had enough, so then Maharaja said directly to Sri Radhika he said, “Thank you very much for coming to chant. This was really special mercy. It feels like special mercy directly from Tamal Krishna Maharaja because you devotees brought his Deities.” And she said, “Thank you for allowing us to receive your mercy.”

Later on we found out from Vraja-līlā who is one of his senior disciples that Maharaja had said, “They came back again?” And she said, “Yes Maharaja.” And he said, “Then have them come into my room.” She said, “You want them to come in?” He said, “Yes, I want them to come in.” So we felt very privileged to have Maharaja’s mercy in such a way that he felt that he was in Vrindavan and this was the mood that he had wanted. It seems that he went there just from those bhajans.

So we left in ecstasy again and we tried to leave. We got into the car and we were getting ready to go to the airport and all the disciples came out and stopped us. They didn’t want us to go. We tried and we kept telling them about our flight arrangements, but they still didn’t want us to go. So we were thinking we know what these disciples are getting ready to go through because we’ve already gone through it. So we got out and we spent some time with all the Matajis. We went into the temple room into the temple, the actual temple where Sri Sri Radha-Damodara are from the Radha-Damodara travelling party, and we had a wild kirtan with them, running up and down the temple room. I was playing the bongos like Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja and we really had a good time and just to release some of the tension from the feelings that they were going through because we felt so much and knew so much that they were feeling. Even though they knew what was going to happen and we didn’t know, but still the end result was the same that you just have these feelings that, “I know I am going to lose my spiritual master and there is nothing that I can do.” So you just have to dovetail those feelings into kirtan or something. So we tried to help them like that.

And then we went back to the car again after the kirtans were over and still they lay down in front of the car so that we couldn’t go. We felt like they were our little sisters because of what they were going through. But finally, finally they let us go. They were really kind disciples. I know they are direct representatives of Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja. I didn’t have any association with Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja at all, but just through the qualities of his disciples—they were all loving, kind, always saying, “How can I serve you? What can I get you? Please, please let me serve you.”—so this had to have been his mood and I was just so grateful that I was able to see this and experience this wonderful event. And Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja and his disciples will always have a place in the depths of my heart. Just from having this experience I feel like I have known Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja for a long time even though it was in a framework of two days.

So I thank you all for tolerating me.
Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja ki jaya!

Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja disappearance day ki jaya!

Gaura-premānande Hari Haribol!

Kunti dasi: I feel very unqualified to be here at this moment.

I spoke to Mother Candravali after she spoke and I was telling her I remembered the phone call from Sri Rupa dasa and a few gurukulis who had gone to Gita-nagari and they were literally camping out. They were there. They were not leaving and they were staying. They were taking all their free time off from work and whatever vacation they had, they were piling it into that time. They wanted to be there and they did everything possible to be there.

Amrta, we put her on a plane. She is now Premamrta, initiated by Radhanath Swami. Vakresvara Pandita’s daughter. I just found out now. I am so thankful to hear that news today. I didn’t know until today. So many gurukulis had taken shelter of Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja. As you know the gurukula lawsuit was in full swing, still in full swing at that time, and many of us were learning the proper approach on how to validate these devotees who had suffered so many injustices in their minds.

Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja, he took it a step further. Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja wanted the gurukulis to forgive and he asked them to please forgive. He asked for forgiveness. Sri Rupa was crying when he told me this so that’s what I am remembering and that’s why it is hard for me to calm down. It so much healing that Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja has arranged for ISKCON. The entire International Society for Krishna Consciousness has benefited by his healing power.

Beg, borrow, or steal a copy of Satyaraja Prabhu’s Black Lotus. You can get a copy of Black Lotus. If you do that you will not put it down. You will read it cover to cover just like Radhanath Swami Maharaja’s beautiful book, The Journey Home, Giriraj Swami’s Watering the Seed. There are so many wonderful books coming out. So definitely take advantage of Black Lotus if you can get a hold of that book.

Many of the things that Advaita Acharya dasa. . . So many devotees [and? of?] different gurus have taken shelter of Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja. The special thing I want to say and then get off this microphone is the only thing I really wanted to say was that we lost Srila Gurudeva so suddenly. Krishna is the master of timing. Everything is Krishna’s timing. Timing is Krishna. Everything to do with time, timing, that’s Krishna. So when we lost Srila Gurudeva in that way, my one thought was, “Gosh, we didn’t get to say goodbye.” And obviously we still have the vāṇī of the spiritual master which is nondifferent. So there is goodbye, but then there is also hello. So not to discount one or play one down or promote one or not promote the other. I am not trying to do that, but what I am saying is that we didn’t really get that closure. There is closure that you need and I feel that Sri Krishna in His infinite mercy and it truly is infinite, more than I can ever say, arranged that we could have this special affection for Bhakti Tirtha Gosvami and feel his love and compassion. How he used to throw my son Bhadra up in the air in the kirtan. I had a two-year-old [son] and I am watching him flying in the air. Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja is throwing him ten feet in the air and he catching him perfectly and Bhadra is just beyond bliss. Maharaja won’t let him go. He has got him practically the whole kirtan. There is a nice film, we should probably show that film again today or. . . that will be nice to get that film of the kirtan in West End. He was so much focused on Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja there.

So Bhakti Tirtha Swami gave us this chance to actually to have a separation that’s not so sudden, not so shocking.

Thank you so much.
Bhakti Tirtha Swami ki jaya!

His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Gosvami Maharaja ki jaya!

Devotee: I had very limited experience with His Divine Grace Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja but the one service that I was able to do for him, I had been placed in charge of taking care of the sannyasis’ laundry during one of the GBC meetings here in Dallas. My duty was just simply to pick up the laundry and give it to the appropriate person to wash and get it back, but things often go array. [laughter] So I was doing the laundry myself and I remember I had strung some lines in my house and I was hanging up laundry and his was one of those laundries that I was able to do.

The only impression that remains with me from that occasion was how happy this man seemed to be. He was always smiling and energetic. So that was a great impression. But someone told me something one time that was impressive to me and that was that one of the elder lady devotees, disciple of Srila Prabhupada, who was stationed at Gita-nagari, I think maybe this was Kesava Bharati Maharaja’s former wife, Mother Kaulini, I was told that she was a senior lady there and Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja was there also. I was told that they had such a relationship like brother and sister which they were that whatever Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja would say, she would accept as coming from Srila Prabhupada. And it was said that whatever she said he also accepted as coming from Srila Prabhupada. That’s about as much as I know about him, but this says a lot about his humility, setting the proper example for the men of ISKCON how to treat our ladies, treat them as mother and sister, someone to be listened to and cherished.

His Divine Grace Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

Devotee: I was in Radhadesh in Belgium in 1999 and he came for the seminars, Bhakti Tirtha Swami. I had seen him in the video, Hare Krishna World, he was kind of like dancing, and I was thinking, Who is he? I didn’t know anybody in those times. And then one of the people I used to work with was telling, “Bhakti Tirtha Swami is coming!” “I don’t know him. What is he like?” He said, “He has his drum and he does this kind of dance. He jumps and plays the drum at the same time.” It sounded really impressive. I was really looking forward to see him jump and play the drum. I was thinking, Maybe it is like over height. How ecstatic can someone play? So still I was a new devotee, I didn’t understand very much. How ecstatic can it be someone playing a drum?

He arrived and he was to lead the samsara prayers in the morning. We were all. . . the brahmacharis were expecting something amazing and it was. It wasn’t any kind of disappointment because as soon as he started, as soon as, “Samsara. . .” and then he went. He just started running, “Samsara-dava. . .” He was running backwards and forwards in the temple room. That was my first experience of him. I was really impressed.

And then after that we went to the Ratha-yatra in Paris. He gave a seminar on depression which I attended and he covered so many other things as well, not only depression, but FBI training and UFOs. It was so much information that he had. He was such a charismatic speaker as well. When he smiled. . .

After that we went to the Paris Ratha-yatra and it was raining unfortunately, but that didn’t seem to stop him. He had so much energy. He had his drum again and he was the whole time chanting and dancing. They had this person with an umbrella and he was trying to keep up with him [laughter], “Maharaja, Maharaja,” trying to keep up with him, but it was almost impossible.

The only contact I actually got with him it was in a class of Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu and afterwards there was questions and answers and I asked Ravindra-Svarupa Prabhu about realized knowledge, if someone speaks to an audience, what is the connection that he has, what is it that makes it spiritual. An actor could speak the same lines as a realized soul, but it wouldn’t have the same connection, and what was the actual connection.

Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, he went into a whole thing about different energies of God, about internal potencies and other things, and I was really confused. I think Bhakti Tirtha Swami picked up on that. He sat in the audience. He was listening and he turned and he said, “It is a connection. It is a spiritual connection that the speaker has.” So that was the only time I ever looked at him and was spoken to by him.

Thank you very much.

Srila Bhakti Tirtha Swami ki jaya!

Devotee: You said something went array with the cloth, but you didn’t tell us what went array with the cloth. So my humble begging is that you will please tell us what went array that day.

Devotee: Somehow the cloth, it was supposed to be done by someone else, but it did not get done, and therefore I was the one in charge, so I had to do it myself. So I got that special personal service.

Devotee: So you got the cloth service by default. Someone defaulted and you got it. That’s not array. How is that array? Now we are satisfied.

[to Nityananda Prabhu] In early nineties you were just becoming temple president and your first year was in 1995?

Nityananda dasa: [inaudible]

Devotee: Yes. The transition was actually. . . It was Yudhisthira and Nityananda. So Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja was here in 1995 and all I know is that people started calling everybody in the block and said, “There is an explosion in the temple room. The temple room has exploded.” Every single devotee in the entire community and that was all of them were stuffed in this room and it was like Janmashtami and in the middle in the summer. Maharaja was here with his drum and he taught the devotees how to slide from the middle of the room on their socks, slide, like a surfboard all the way to the back. And they’d come back and they’d do a surfboard again all the way to the front. And the chanting went on for six or seven hours. It just didn’t stop. It started at four and did not end until almost midnight. I just wanted to mention that. It was his first kirtan at least in that era in that time in Dallas.

Giriraj Swami: I am going to propose a revision in the schedule because we are already planning to see your DVD from the GBC meeting and someone has a DVD of Maharaja on the hari-nāma at West End. It is already almost 10:30 and just hearing so many wonderful offerings so I am thinking I won’t speak now again, but we can just have another meeting in the evening including the DVDs. If there is time and the opportunity arises, I could speak then and we could perhaps call on others who were not here to also speak.

Thank you all very much for your heartfelt sharing of thoughts and memories and feelings.

Srila Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Nitai-gaura-premānande Hari Haribol!