Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Disappearance Day

Giriraj Swami: Today is the divine disappearance day of Sri-Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Srila Prabhupada, the Founder Acarya of Sri Chaitanya Matha, Sri Gaudiya Matha and other Mathas throughout India, and the spiritual master of many disciples, but especially important for us and the world, the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. When we were with Srila Prabhupada in Surat in 1971 on his Guru Maharaja’s disappearance day, he said that the sunrise and sunset both are beautiful. In the same way, the appearance and disappearance of the spiritual master, both are beautiful. 

And, he often told the story of the sadhu who gave different blessings to different people. Can the translation be a little quieter? Turn down the volume. The sadhu or yogi was approached by a king, a Prajaputra and the sadhu blessed him, “marova, you should not die. As a prince, you are enjoying the results of your past pious activities and engaging in sense gratification, committing all sorts of sinful activities. So, it is better that you don’t die because when you die, you will have to suffer the reactions for all of your sins, and you will be in a very painful situation. So, it is better that you don’t die.” And, Muniputra, “maajiva”—to the son of a sage, one could say a strict brahmachari. He gave the blessing that, “You should die immediately. You are performing so many austerities under strict disciplinary vows, so you are voluntarily accepting suffering for a higher cause, but now you have suffered enough. So, you can die immediately and enjoy the fruits of all of your austerities.” And, to a butcher, he gave the blessing “jivo-va maro-va, you should not live and you should not die. You should not live because you are present life is horrible. You are killing innocent creatures, watching them suffer, getting splattered with blood. So, it is a horrible life; it is a ghastly occupation, so you should not live. And, you should not die also because when you die, you’ll have to suffer great sinful reactions for all of these killing of innocent creatures you’ve performed. So, jivo-va maro-va—should not live, don’t live, and don’t die.” And, to the devotee, he gave the blessing that, “You may live or die, it doesn’t matter because in the present life you are engaged in service to Krishna, and you are happy, and in the next life, you will continue to engage in service to Krishna and be happy and transcendental bliss. So for you, life and death are the same. There is no difference, so you may live or die.”

So, Srila Prabhupada said that was the case with his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He lived his life in full Krishna consciousness and after death, he would continue to live in full Krishna consciousness. In fact, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is considered to be a ray of Vishnu. A ray of Vishnu means a devotee from the spiritual world, who has come into the material world to execute the Lord’s mission. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s father was Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, an extremely important and powerful acharya in the line after Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In fact, he was dubbed the Seventh Gosvami. He was considered to be on that level. But Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was concerned that there should be someone to carry on his mission, and he prayed to the Lord to send a personal associate from the spiritual world into the material realm for the sake of continuing the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. 

There are many indications that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was the Lord’s answer to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s prayer. When the boy was only a few months old, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was the Assistant Magistrate, very high position in the British rule of India, in Jagannatha Puri. And, during the annual Ratha-yatra, the chariot stopped in front of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s residence, and Bimala Prasad as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was named, was just a few months old, and his mother took the opportunity of bringing the baby up on the chariot. And, he was just a few months old, just a small baby, but he started to try to reach the lotus feet of Lord Jagannatha with his tiny hands. And, at that time, one of Lord Jagannatha’s garlands fell upon the baby as blessing, and not only as blessing, but as an indication that this is a divine child sent by the Lord.

Another incident, when Bimala Prasad was maybe two or three years old, he took a mango and began to eat it, and his father Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mildly reprimanded him that this mango has not been offered. It was meant to be offered to the deity, and you ate it. And, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarapatel Thakura took it so seriously that never again in his life did he have mango. He was just a small child, two or three years old, it was no fault really, but he considered that he was an offender. In his later life, when disciples offered him mango, he would refuse. He would say, “I cannot take. I am an offender.”

So, these are the activities of an Acharya, a liberated soul. He teaches by his example. So, there were so many incidents. We don’t have time to describe them all, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was a very learned scholar. He had a photographic memory, and when he was in school, the library had to keep ordering new books just for him because he would read a book once, and he would remember every word in the book. He was a very learned scholar, brilliant person. And, his first instructor, naturally, was his father; for spiritual mentor, it was his father, and his father taught him the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, gave him deities to worship, gave him mantras to chant, but according to the etiquette, a father should not give dīkṣā to his own child. 

And, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura advised his son Bimala Prasad to take initiation from Srila Gaurakishora Babaji Maharaja, who was a great mahā-bhāgavata devotee, always absorbed in the mellows of love of Krishna in separation. Srila Sarasvati Thakura, or you could say Bimala Prasad, approached him, and he refused. He said, “You are a learned scholar, and I am an illiterate villager. I am not fit to be your spiritual master.” So, Bimala prasad went home and informed his father, and his father advised him that you have to approach him again. So, he approached him again. And, Srila Gaurakishora Babaji Maharaja said, “Well, I am not really accepting disciples, but I will ask Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.” So in that way, he avoided him and sent him away again. So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was very concerned about his son’s future. He practically said you have to approach him again, and otherwise, what is the use of your life? So, he approached him again, “Did you ask Mahaprabhu about me?” And, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji replied, “Actually, I forgot. I am sorry I forgot.” So, then Bimala Prasad, in a mood of deep lamentation, is understanding that Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja was not accepting him, so he quoted a line from his father’s song, “Vaishnava, if you are not merciful to me, kandiya kandiya—I will simply weep and week, prana na rakhibo ara. I will not be able to maintain my life anymore.” And, when Srila Gaurakishora Babaji Maharaja understood that he had actually become humble and desperate, then he accepted him. And later, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura remarked, and again, we don’t comment on what he said except that he is the Acharya, setting the example for us, but later he commented that as a youth, he had been puffed up with his knowledge and high moral principles, and because he was puffed up, his Guru Maharaja rejected him three times to help him overcome his false pride. And then, ultimately, he did [Unintelligible 00:19:22] the proper humility, and his Guru Maharaja accepted him. 

As a preacher, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was ferocious like a lion. He was called the lion guru. And, he fought against any philosophy or any practice that was against the pure teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Prabhupada said that all categories of persons were enemies of his Guru Maharaja because his Guru Maharaja would not [tolerate] apa-siddhānta toward the holy name. He would not tolerate any apa-siddhānta—any statements contrary to the conclusions of Srila Rupa Gosvami. And he would fight to remove them. He fought against the caste Gosvamis, gosāis, and fight against all different varieties of apa-sampradāyas, that means false sampradāyas claiming to be following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, but who are actually deviating from the pure teachings and practices of Mahaprabhu. And in Vrindavan, he came in conflict with the caste Gosvamis. It is said that they closed their temple to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and his disciples. Shopkeepers closed their shops to them. Srila Prabhupada said big preaching means big enemies. And Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was a huge preacher, a huge preacher, and he had enemies in Vrindavan, so many enemies. But he tried to explain his position to them, and some of them were able to understand why he was speaking so forcefully the way he was speaking. 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura instituted Vraja-mandala parikramā. Thousands and thousands of devotees would accompany him on parikramā throughout Vraja. And in those days, Vraja was more of a forest, it wasn’t so highly populated and developed, and there were no motor vehicles like now. Mainly they, of course, the Vraja mandala can be done by foot, but otherwise to carry provisions they would have bullock carts, and some men would ride on horses. But still, tens of thousands of devotees were gathering for Vraja-mandala parikramā. 

And he established at Radha-kunda Kunja Bihari Matha. It is there. In fact, it was the bhajana-kuṭira of Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji there at that place, and even now, there is a shrine camp like a samadhi at the Kunja Bihari Matha. And, although our Srila Prabhupada didn’t have so much association with his Guru Maharaja, he did come to meet him during the Vraja-mandala parikramā. He tells the story that one of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s disciples was taking the group on parikramā, maybe to Koshi. And so, he went into Srila Sarasvati Thakura’s room where some disciples were sitting, and he announced we were going on parikramā. So, almost all the disciples went but not our Srila Prabhupada because he wanted to hear his Guru Maharaja speak. He thought that hearing his Guru Maharaja speak was more important than going on parikramā and seeing the deities. And, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura noted that in him that he likes to hear. He noted that very early that he likes to hear. And, Srila Prabhupada commented that if he had any qualifications it was that he liked to hear, and thus he was initiated in Allahabad. It was eleven years after he had met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta the first time.

So anyway, at Radha-kunda, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura disclosed to Srila Prabhupada that he was very distressed by his disciples, or some of his leading disciples that they had become materially infected due to the spirit of enjoyment. And, he predicted that one day there will be fire in the Gaudiya Matha, the fire of party interests of self-interest. And he told Srila Prabhupada that he in effect. . . He had built the Matha to give facility to the devotees to preach, but instead of using the facility to preach or exclusively to preach, they were using the facilities for sense gratification, for prestige. In other words, they put themselves in the center which is the tendency of every conditioned soul, but he was very disappointed, very disappointed. And he said, “If I could have taken the marble off the walls of the temple and sold it and used the money to print books, that would have been better.” And then, he told Srila Prabhupada directly, “If you ever get money, print books.” 

So that was just a little before Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura passed from this world. Towards the end, he was residing at Jagannatha Puri, and he was very much in the mood of separation from Vrindavan, and he was especially thinking of Govardhana Hill. He was reciting Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami’s prayer for residence at Govardhana Hill – nija-nikita-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam. And then, he announced that he wanted to return to Calcutta. He was unwell. In fact, Srila Prabhupada wrote him a letter when he was in Puri in which he expressed the idea that you have so many disciples brahmacharis and sannyasis who are engaged in serving you. I am just a grihastha. I cannot do any service. What can I do? And Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura replied in the same vein as he had instructed Srila Prabhupada in their first meeting that you should preach the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the English language all over the world, and this will do good for you and for those who hear you and come forward to help you. Then, just maybe some days after writing that letter, Srila Sarasvati Thakura came by train back to Calcutta. It was a very poignant occasion. People understood that they might not see him again. There was one grihastha devotee in Puri and a small son, maybe four-year-old son, and as Srila Sarasvati Thakura was preparing to leave, he told the boy that he should offer his obeisances to Sarasvati Thakura because it might be the last time he sees him. And all along the way that the train stopped, people came to offer respects. There is kirtan on the platform, and then he arrived in Calcutta. In Calcutta, the disciples naturally brought all the best doctors to try to treat him, and the doctors advised that he should take rest, and he had to stop preaching, that his physical health could not sustain the effort of preaching, and that if he wanted to live longer, he had to just stop. In response to this advice, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura preached to the doctors and told them that this body is temporary, that the real person is the soul within the body, and the soul is never born and never dies, and that the only purpose of life is to engage in the service of the Lord, in this service of the individual soul to the Supreme soul. So, he preached until the end. And just some days before the end, he called the disciples there into his room, and he spoke to them. He gave them some very important instructions which are valuable for us. They are the type of instructions that you could print and keep in front of you. So I will. . . He spoke in Bengali and one of his. . . it was before tape recorders, but one of his disciples took notes, and practically a verbatim account of these important instructions. [Bell rings] [Unintelligible 00:35:50]

He said, “I advise all to preach the teachings of Rupa-Raghunatha, disciples of Lord Chaitanya, with all energy and resources.” So actually, each sentence is so full of meaning, I will just speak a little. Of course, as Srila Prabhupada explains Rupa-Raghunatha really means all the Gosvamis, the Six Gosvamis. We are followers of the Six Gosvamis, and with all energy and resources. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was the great champion and exemplar of yukta-vairāgya. So, personally we have energy, whatever we have in our body, we have energy. So, all of that energy should be used to preach the message of Rupa- Raghunatha, not some for Rupa-Raghunatha, and some for me, my family, my society, my sense gratification, their sense gratification. All energy and resources, whatever resources we have, mānasa, deha, geha, yo kichu mora, whatever we have, use to preach. 

“Our ultimate goal shall be to become the dust of the lotus feet of Sri Sri Rupa and Raghunatha Gosvami, not to become big men.” That was what so perturbed Srila Sarasvati Thakura that members of the Matha, they wanted to be big men in the world, they wanted to have all the paraphernalia of big men—babus. That is not our goal. Our goal is to become small, as small as possible, just a speck of dust at the feet of Rupa-Raghunatha. 

“You should all work conjointly under the guidance of your spiritual master.” This is also Srila Prabhupada’s important request for all of us as he sat here in his rooms at the Krishna-Balarama mandir. When Tamal Krishna Gosvami commented that your disciples love you so much, Srila Prabhupada replied, “Your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate to maintain this institution after I leave.” Anyone can say, “I love you.” Anyone can say, they say it all the time, but how do you show your love? In the case of Srila Prabhupada, he said our love for him would be shown by how we cooperate. To cooperate really means to be free from false ego. To be free from false ego really means to be established in one’s actual identity gopī-bhartur pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopī damsels of Vrindavan. That is our actual identity, and in that spirit we can work cooperatively, just like all the gopīs residents of Vrindavan work cooperatively for Krishna’s pleasure. In the material concept, we want to push ourselves forward and push others. . . Yes, we want to go up and push others down. Whereas the mood of the gopīs is to push others forward, and they stay in the background. “You should all work conjointly under the guidance of your spiritual master.” Sometimes people cooperate but for the wrong purpose. Thieves also cooperate in a way but for the wrong purpose. Governments cooperate in a way but for the wrong purpose. So, “You should work conjointly under the guidance of the spiritual master.”

In fact, when one Gaudiya Vaishnava came to visit Srila Prabhupada in his last days here, he sort of requested Srila Prabhupada to instruct his disciples to work without self-interest, and Srila Prabhupada was very weak at the time. He said it is a motion to his disciples, “Don’t fight. I have given direction in my books.” It is the same idea that we cooperate with the spiritual master as the central point, with his instructions as our guidance. That is the basis for our cooperation. 

“You should all work conjointly under the guidance of your spiritual master with a view to serve the Absolute knowledge, the Personality of Godhead.” And ultimately, serving the instructions of the spiritual master is to serve Krishna, the Absolute Truth. As Prabhupada would always speak of the qualification of a guru that he doesn’t say that he is God, but he says he is the servant of God. He doesn’t say surrender to me; he says surrender to Krishna. So yes, “You work conjointly under the guidance of your spiritual master with a view to serve the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead.”

“You should live somehow or other without any quarrel in this mortal world, only for the service of Godhead. Do not please give up the service of Godhead in spite of all dangers, all criticisms, and all discomforts.” When we preach, we face difficulties, and the difficulties come in different categories as mentioned here. Dangerous—it is dangerous—some devotees preach in dangerous places—communist countries, Muslim countries. Actually, wherever we preach and challenge the existing order of materialists, we are taking a risk. You can’t preach unless you take risks. So, there are dangers, but in spite of the dangers we have to persevere, we can’t give up. Then criticism—of course, we are criticized by non-devotees, by materialists, by impersonalists—that is natural. We criticize them, and they criticize us. They use their tactics, and we use our tactics. Unfortunately, we are criticized by devotees also—that is very unfortunate. It is even more unfortunate for the devotees who are doing the criticizing than for the ones who are being criticized. That is a great offense sādhu-nindā, vaiṣṇava-aparādha. So, we should not do that. 

Yesterday, I had a nice talk with my godbrother His Holiness Giridhari Swami who was in the Philippines. And he told me that he had recently given a talk on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-one, the same chapter that we are reading here, Text Forty, in which King Pṛthu speaks about serving devotees, serving brahmans and devotees. And Giridhari Swami made the point that without the mood of serving devotees, one cannot make any progress. In fact, he said if you are not serving devotees, what are you doing? If you are not serving devotees, you can be doing only one thing—offending devotees. And that will finish you. And he discussed the five main, the five most potent items of devotional service, pañca ańga. And he said that without the service of devotees, you cannot benefit from any of the five most potent forms of devotional service. 

Sādhu-saṅga—there were devotees who were with Srila Prabhupada personally. Yes and yes, he said if you don’t serve the devotees, you become proud. and then you will have to offend the devotees. They became proud, and they offended the devotees and gone. Sādhu-saṅga. Nāma-saṅkīrtana—Devotees who could lead very beautiful kirtan, devotees who chanted japa for many years, even many decades, but when they became proud and offended devotees – gone. Bhāgavata-śravaṇa – there were devotees who were very learned scholars, they could quote Sanskrit verses, they knew many shastras, but if they became proud, if they didn’t have the mood of serving devotees, they would become proud and committed offenses and gone. Same with worshipping the deity—there have been many very talented pujaris engaged in murti-sevā for many years, but again they become proud and offend devotees, they are gone. And mathurā-vāsa—living in Mathura mandala, living in Vrindavan. There are devotees who lived in Vrindavan for many years, even decades, but if they become proud and offend devotees, they are also gone. 

So, we have to maintain that mood of service to devotees no matter what we do, we have to maintain the mood of service. Now here, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is speaking from the other point of view that even if you are criticized, of course, being criticized by materialists and impersonalists, we expect. Even if you are criticized by devotees, which shouldn’t happen, but even if you are criticized by devotees, you should not give up your service. Do not give up your service. And all discomforts, we don’t need to talk about the discomforts, but when you travel and preach, there are many discomforts that come with traveling. When you live in Vrindavan, there are also discomforts that come from living in a place where there are extremes of climate, and the material facilities aren’t so reliable, but you don’t give up your service because your service is your life. You can give up anything else, but you can’t give up your services. Your service is your life.

“Do not please give up the service of Godhead in spite of all dangers, all criticisms, and all discomforts. Do not be disappointed for most people in the world do not serve the personality of Godhead. Do not give up your own service which is your everything and all. Neither reject the process of chanting and hearing of the transcendental holy name of Godhead.” So, we have our service quote “practical service,” we should not give up on our service, and we also have our other service of chanting and hearing, and we should not give up chanting and hearing either, we must maintain both. 

“You should always chant the transcendental name of Godhead with patience and forbearance like a tree and humbleness like a straw.” Of course, this is the reference to the famous verse of the Śikṣāṣṭakam:

tṛṇād api su-nīcena

taror iva sahiṣṇunā

amāninā māna-dena

kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

At the recent japa retreat in Varshana, the verse was discussed, and the point was made that humility is not a matter of an outward show of being humble. Once, a disciple said to Srila Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupada, I am the most fallen.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “You are not the most anything.” He was cutting through the false humility. So, anyone can fold their hands, “Prabhu, I am your servant, order me whatever you like.” The real test of our humility comes when things don’t go the way we want, then we have to see whether we can tolerate. If we are actually humble, we will be able to tolerate, but if we are not actually humble, we won’t tolerate. 

His Holiness Sacinandana Swami told me a story that he heard personally from someone he met in India. There was a baba in the Himalayas, he was living in a cave in the Himalayas. And he would just sit, he would hardly eat anything or drink anything, he would just sit and chant all day long and maybe eat some berries or roots but whatever was available. He was very austere, very simple, very renounced. So, this person who Sacinandana Swami happened to meet heard about the fellow, and he had some doubt. Is he really all that he is made out to be? So, he thought he will test him. So, he went up to his place in the Himalayas, and he sat very submissively and then, and that whatever yogi or sadhu, he, I guess he was sitting on a deer skin with some sort of, just nothing but some sort of asana that he sat, and he had to go out for a few minutes. So, this young fellow who came with the idea of testing him, he sat on his asana. And then, when the yogi came back to the cave and saw the young fellow sitting on his asana, he exploded. As we say, he went ballistic. So, where is the humility? Yes, it is very easy to maintain a show of humility when everything is organized and controlled just the way you want it. But when someone does something you don’t like, or when even circumstances conspire in a way different from what you want, then we have to see that humility. And for us, of course, the best way to express it is to work cooperatively for the benefit of others. 

“There are many amongst you who are well qualified and able workers. We have no other desire whatsoever.” So, “We have no other desire whatsoever,” that was true of him, and that was his wish for his disciples, that is our wish. So, I am considering that I have a few more minutes because today is half-day fast, so we have a special dispensation. So, I thought I will read that so much but this, I thought this is very nice. After Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura left, the Mayor of Calcutta. . . There was, I guess, a city-wide day of mourning, and the Mayor of Calcutta issued a statement in recognition of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He said, “I rise to condole the passing away of His Divine Grace Paramahamsa Sri-Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, the President Acharya of the Gaudiya Matha of Calcutta, and the great leader of the Gaudiya movement throughout the world. This melancholy event happened on the first day of this new year. Born in 1874, he dedicated his whole life to religious pursuits and dissemination of the cultural wealth of this great and ancient land of ours. An intellectual giant, he elicited the admiration of all for his unique scholarship, high and varied attainments, original thinking, and wonderful exposition of many difficult branches of knowledge. With invaluable contributions, he enriched many journals. He was the author of some devotional literature of repute. He was one of the most powerful and brightest exponents of the cult of Vaishnavism. His utterances and writings displaying a deep study of comparative philosophy and theology. Catholicity,” that means sort of broad-mindedness, seeing the truth in different traditions, “Catholicity of his views, soundness of his teachings, and above all, his dynamic personality and the irresistible force of a pure and simple life had attracted thousands of followers of his message of love and service to the Absolute, as propagated by Sri Krishna Chaitanya. He was the founder and guiding spirit of the Sri Chaitanya Matha at Sri Mayapur, Nadia and the Gaudiya Matha of Calcutta. The Gaudiya movement to which his contribution is no small one, has received a setback at the passing away of such a great soul. His departure has created a void in the spiritual horizon of India which is difficult to be filled up.” 

And then, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada later summarized the divine passing of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, “Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura came into this world to execute the mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, he executed it. And when it was required, he left this place and went to another place to do the same business.” So, it is. . . Yes, jivova marova, you can live or die, but for us there is a great void when an acharya like Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura or Srila Prabhupada leaves. There is a great void and as the Calcutta Mayor said, “It is very difficult to fill that void,” but that is our duty. That is our responsibility to work conjointly under the guidance of our spiritual master with the view to serve the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, with patience and forbearance like a tree and humbleness like a blade of grass. That is our sacred duty to try to fill up that terrible void that is left by the departure of the Acharya. 

So, on this occasion, we can pray to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to bless us and empower us to serve his mission, the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and the mission that has come to us through Srila Prabhupada through disciplic succession, in our service, and in our pursuit of the practices of Krishna consciousness, of chanting and hearing about Krishna. Somehow, I recall when we observed Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s appearance day at Gorakhpur. We were staying at Sri Krishna Niketan which had been the personal residence of Sri Hanumat Prasad Poddar of the Gītā Press. We were there as a guest of the Gītā Press. And, Srila Prabhupada. . . We observed the festival during the day in a simple way, but he said we should have a big program in the evening, and invite all the Gītā Press people, and other local dignitaries, and then have feast. So, we did that, and Srila Prabhupada was inside, upstairs inside, and in the mansion, very big mansion, and we were all outside sitting down in rows, taking the feast on leaf plates. And, Srila Prabhupada’s servant Nandakumar Prabhu came down, and he delivered two messages from Srila Prabhupada that were very encouraging. The first was Srila Prabhupada said that the feast was so good, he could not control his senses, and he ate too much. And, the other message was that his Guru Maharaja is very pleased with all of us.

So, we can keep those messages in mind, try not to lose control, but I guess if it is good enough, you can’t help it, that is okay. And, to try to please Srila Prabhupada which in turn naturally will please Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. And, to increase their pleasure more and more. In fact, I may mention because we are in the month of the marathon, Srila Prabhupada wrote me a letter in which he said, “Go on increasing books, and go on increasing my pleasure.” But of course, all of our services are ultimately meant for the pleasure of Guru and Gauranga. And also. . . they are all ultimately meant to further the preaching mission and further the book distribution. So yes, accepting as Srila Prabhupada said that his Guru Maharaja is pleased with all of us, we should work conjointly to increase their pleasure.

Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja ki jaya

Nitai-Gaura premānande! Hari Haribol!