Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day

Host: Everybody have a good Srila Prabhupada observance day today. We see a lot of wonderful devotees that are not in our congregation but I see them, I presume you’re from all different parts of the world. So, thank you for joining. Oh, there’s Maharaja. Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you so much for. . . It’s been a marathon day for you, I think.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Host: Thank you. So, I’ll just do a very brief introduction. We’re very happy to have the association of His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja, a very dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada. He will be speaking to us about Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance and service. Maharaja, I saw your email yesterday where you described Prabhupada’s pastimes in Vrindavan, and how two groups of devotees, both imbued with love, had somewhat different desires for Srila Prabhupada. Krishna can fulfill many desires with just one act; Srila Prabhupada did it so nicely.

Reading that and reading how you read the Tenth Canto, Chapter Nine, I saw that amazing aspect of your experience with Srila Prabhupada. Of course, you had much personal association. With that personal association, not just such deep realization, very profound realization. I was very grateful to read that yesterday, and I appreciate that very much. I think Maharaja very much likes for everyone to turn on their videos.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Host: Ultimately, turn off the audio, but maybe if everybody can turn on the audio and chant Haribol for appreciation Maharaja’s extending himself so much. Can you all open up your audio and just. . . You know what to do.

Devotees: Haribol! Hare Krishna!

Giriraj Swami: I will begin singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan. And then, I will speak on Srila Prabhupada’s. . . Well, not just his final pastimes, but I would say his final lessons.

[Prayers]

So, again, as far as possible, please turn on your cameras so I can see your moon-like faces. So, I’m glad Jai Sacinandana Prabhu, that you mentioned my account of Srila Prabhupada’s last days, and the controversy among his disciples. I will not speak about that now, but it will be a good background for those who have heard me speak about that, or who have read what I’ve written about it.

So, today I will. . . There’s so much to say about Srila Prabhupada’s departure and the aftermath of his departure. I think I’ll start with his departure.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

COMMENT

And then, Prabhupada was taken into the temple room on a palanquin, and that palanquin fit perfectly on his vyāsāsana, so he was placed on his vyāsāsana in the palanquin. By Prabhupada’s grace, even amidst the overwhelming feeling of sorrow, I was surprised to find myself experiencing a sort of ecstasy.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

And then, Srila Prabhupada was placed into samadhi.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

Which was just near the temple. Bhagatji was a good friend of Srila Prabhupada, and a supporter.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

And I wrote quite a bit more as a sort of farewell message, and an informative message to send to our friends.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

And that was a whole other experience. But one very, very significant part of it came when we went to Radha-kunda.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

Here, Srila Prabhupada is paraphrasing Lord Krishna’s instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru, which comes twice in the Bhagavad-gītā.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

I’m reading this not only because we’re discussing Srila Prabhupada’s departure and the aftermath of his departure on his disappearance day, but because this is a common question that we all face, “How do we get instructions from the spiritual master when he’s not physically present?” He may not be physically present because he’s left this world, or he may not be physically present because he’s geographically distant or unavailable. So, the following instructions are very important.

[READING from I’ll Build You a Temple]

So, what can I say? Srila Prabhupada was so perfect that he gave us the instructions we needed just at the time we needed them, after he left. And as Srila Prabhupada wrote in his dedication to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam dedicated to his Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, “He lives forever by his divine instructions, and the follower lives with him.” So, although we are feeling separation from Srila Prabhupada, on this day especially, but we can feel his presence, we can have his association by following his instructions.

And I don’t know how proper it is to disclose it, but there was an exact moment when I felt Srila Prabhupada’s presence after he left. It was very much like what was described in the sections from the Fourth Canto from which I read some excerpts. I was in Pakistan. I would go to preach in Pakistan. And we had a very good friend who was Muslim, named Saleem Akhtar. He was so helpful. I mean, I don’t think we had any friends in Bombay amongst the Hindu community who were as helpful as Saleem was. So, Saleem had a big house in an area called Clifton, which in a way is sort of like Juhu beach, it’s very near the sea. And so, he invited us. Because we really didn’t have any place of our own, so he invited us to stay with him, and we did stay with him for some time.

And I’ll never forget. I was on the rooftop of his home, chanting japa, and suddenly, I just felt Srila Prabhupada’s presence manifest itself. I didn’t read that full section from the Fourth Canto because a little later, it describes how the Paramātmā appears to the queen, who figuratively represents the disciple, to give her guidance in the absence of her husband, or in our case, it would be in the absence of the spiritual master. It was just like that.

So, yeah, I’m very grateful to Srila Prabhupada that he has given us all the instructions we need in his books, and is available to all of us at any time, when we want. And he has created a house in which the whole world can live peacefully and happily. Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. So, do we have time for questions and comments, or what do you suggest?

Host: I think we all want nothing but time.

Giriraj Swami: [laughter] Nothing but time, okay. Krishna says, “Time I am.” All right. So, if any of you want to say anything, raise your hand. Okay, Siddhi Lalasa has raised her hand. Please unmute yourself. And again, my dear devotees, please put on your cameras if at all possible. It will make the meeting more personal. So, yes, Siddhi Lalasa dasi.

Siddhi Lalasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. I just wanted to say that yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak. [crying] Sorry. Actually, I was thinking of all Prabhupada’s disciples. Prabhupada came from the spiritual world, and then again, he’s in this miserable material world with us. And for me, I’m only thinking, When will I get out of here? I may be preaching, but I’m only thinking, When will I get out from here? And I’m seeing all of you, Prabhupada’s disciples, who are still determined. I mean, yourself, Jayapataka Maharaja, who is a miracle, so many others.

I thought of Ramachandra. I always think of Ramachandra. He came and lived the life of an ordinary human being, suffering so much in this material world. And when the Lord comes, He comes with His associates. And I’m thinking of Prabhupada. He came from the spiritual world, but with him came the devas, that’s all of you. And I’m listening to Prabhupada’s lectures and the room conversations, and one of the books that impressed me the most was Science of Self-Realization, and that’s what convinced me that Prabhupada is genuine, the movement is genuine.

But now, I’m hearing those conversations, very, very powerful, and I realize that Prabhupada was actually not dealing with ordinary people, he was preaching, yes, to leaders, but those youngsters who were with him, they are not ordinary, they’re actually devas. I mean, the way you describe now what you read, someone who’s in his twenties, how is it possible to understand this and make an entire life of dedication? So much suffering, physical suffering, but still, you want to preach, you preach.

So, this is what I was feeling. And that’s why Prabhupada was so confident, that in only ten years, he set up the movement, and he left. I think he said he’s not like Srila Bhaktisiddhanta who was, I heard, disgusted, and left. Prabhupada said he’s satisfied.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, yeah, that’s true. Yes, Srila Prabhupada has left us a great legacy by His Divine Grace, and now we have to, as we’re reading, execute the mission of the spiritual master and be ready to lay down our life for it, set aside all personal considerations and execute the mission of the spiritual master. But setting aside all personal considerations does not mean that we neglect our health. We also have to take care of our health. I did have that tendency to work very hard and neglect my health, and then, once in Juhu, Srila Prabhupada told me that to work very hard for Krishna for two days and then to have to recuperate for three days, that is not a very good proposition. We have to take care of our health.

Once, when I felt sick, he wrote me a very nice letter in which he said, “Your body is very valuable, it is dedicated to Krishna’s service. So, you should take care of the body very carefully.” And he said, “The best is to take rest along with the doctor’s prescription, and to chant the holy name. The holy name is the panacea to cure all material diseases.” That was a beautiful letter.

I mean, lay down our lives for the mission of the spiritual master doesn’t mean that we should neglect our health or leave our bodies unnecessarily early, but we maintain the body and soul together so we can serve Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.

Premarupa Madhavi devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. My name is Premarupa Madhavi devi dasi. Sorry, I can’t raise my hand because Narottama das is the host. We have a watch party, Maharaja, to hear your class today. Thank you so much, it was so heart-touching. Maharaja, my question was, where can we get that article? You only read the excerpt of it. Where can we get the article which Tamal Krishna Goswami asked you to write?

Giriraj Swami: Well, what I was reading from and commenting on is from my forthcoming book about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu called I’ll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story. And although the focus is Juhu, definitely, but the book includes all of my association with Srila Prabhupada, including very much those last weeks in Vrindavan; going to the Kumbh Mela with him, there’s a chapter about being with him at the Maha Kumbh Mela. Kumbh Mela is every twelve years, and every twelfth Kumbh Melas is a Maha Kumbh Mela. So, in 1977 was a Maha Kumbh Mela, and there’s a chapter about that. There are so many. Prabhupada was invited to Wardha, that’s in the center of India, Maharashtra, near Nagpur, for a Gītā conference. And so, I was with Srila Prabhupada there. So, there were many, you could say, side trips from Bombay with Srila Prabhupada.

So, yeah, I was reading from that forthcoming book, I’ll Build You a Temple. Thank you for inquiring. It’s at the printer now, it’s being published by the BBT under His Holiness Devamrita Swami, and Devamrita Swami said it will take about two months to print after the PDF has been approved, and we did just approve the PDF, so it should be coming soon. Then, it will be shipped from Bombay to different places.

Premarupa Madhavi devi dasi: It will be a great New Year gift in 2021. Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Are there any other questions or comments?

Host: Maharaja, Maitreya Prabhu has his hand raised.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Maitreya Prabhu: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Maitreya Prabhu: Nice to see you. You said that the disciple that takes the order of the spiritual master to heart and executes it to his heart and soul after the departure of his guru is tantamount to seeing Krishna face to face. Can you comment on that, please?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yeah. Again, it’s an elaborate discussion, and for the sake of time, I didn’t read everything. But one of the lines that’s very memorable to me, Srila Prabhupada said, “Instead of wanting to see Krishna in some bush in Vrindavan while engaging in all nonsense, you should rather follow the instructions of the spiritual master.” And by the mercy of Krishna, one gets guru, and by the mercy of guru, one gets Krishna. So, if we follow the orders of the spiritual master, eventually, by his and Krishna’s grace, we will see Krishna.

And that comes later in that same Chapter of the Bhāgavatam, that the Paramātmā. . . It’s very, very interesting, really. The Paramātmā comes to the queen, the widow, who figuratively is the disciple, after the spiritual master leaves, and says, “I am your old friend, but you have forgotten.” And he says, “We used to sport together like two swans on Manasa Lake.” And this section can be used as quite compelling evidence to support the idea that we had a relationship with Krishna before we came into the material world. It’s very powerful. Yeah, there’s a lot of nectar in following the orders of the spiritual master, and a lot of nectar awaiting us from following the orders of the spiritual master.

The first time I went to Vrindavan. . . I mean, there's a bit of a history to it, and then I came and I met Srila Prabhupada in Bombay, and he asked me about my experience in Vrindavan, and I said I could feel Krishna’s presence. I couldn’t see Him, but I could feel His presence. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, for now you just feel the presence. And later, when the time comes, you can see.” Jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Any other questions or comments? All right, well, thank you for inviting me to speak about Srila Prabhupada on this divine occasion. And if we are going to end now, I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma.

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees and can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ