One-Year Memorial Program for Bhakti Charu Swami

Radha Vinod dasa: Today we are observing Guru Maharaja’s passing away from this world. It is a very memorable day. We are very fortunate to have His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja join with us. I would request His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja to address us on this memorable day, where we physically lost our very dear Guru Maharaja, Bhakti Charu Swami. On behalf of all the disciples of His Holiness, I would like to thank you so much for your very kind support that we all have needed. Thank you very much!

[Prayers]

Giriraj Swami: So, I think of something that Tamal Krishna Goswami’s disciple, Gauri dasa in England, wrote; “On the departure of His Holiness Tamal Krishna Maharaja, His Holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaja shared his feelings. His shattered composure and his deep questioning of Krishna, the suddenness and the way Tamal Krishna Goswami tragically passed away perturbed Bhakti Charu Swami. He questioned, ”Why did he have to leave us in this way?”

And then Maharaja had a realization, a very important realization, and one that can help us today; “A realization dawned on me; our existence in this material world is like a dream, and therefore, how one comes or departs does not really matter. Only those who want to remain in ignorance are concerned about how one is born and how one dies. But for a devotee situated in the Absolute Truth, it does not really matter at all! How one leaves the body is not important. What really matters is how one leads his life. For one who has lived such an intense life of devotion, always expressing his love for Krishna through dedicated service, how can Krishna ever fail him? For one who has always been seeing Krishna in the core of his heart, with eyes anointed with the mascara of love, at the final moment Krishna comes to him and he sees Krishna face to face. Will he not naturally become submerged in an ocean of bliss? Therefore, how one leaves the body is not important. What really matters is how one develops his love for Krishna. Krishna comes to His devotee at the most crucial time in his life, when he is about to leave his body.”

So, one of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja’s most prominent qualities, was his deep love for Srila Prabhupada. Very soon after Maharaja met Srila Prabhupada, Prabhupada included him in his personal staff and made him his secretary for Bengali and Hindi correspondence. Soon thereafter, Srila Prabhupada gave him first and second initiation, and then sannyasa. And Maharaja personally served Srila Prabhupada throughout Prabhupada’s last days. His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami was also devoted to ISKCON. He always considered ISKCON to be a unique creation of Srila Prabhupada, and always wanted to serve ISKCON, both the devotees in ISKCON and ISKCON as an entity, a manifestation of Srila Prabhupada.

He was really in the mood of service to the devotees, especially the devotees of ISKCON and to ISKCON itself. Maharaja was a very pure-hearted loving person. His love for Srila Prabhupada was seen in his love for the devotees and for people in general, whom he wanted to bring to Srila Prabhupada; and in how he encouraged devotees to increase their engagement—take on more responsibility and become more loving, humble servants. “The more responsibility one accepts,” Maharaja once explained to devotees in Mauritius, “The bigger servant the devotee becomes.”

This reminded me of something Srila Prabhupada once said. A disciple came into Prabhupada’s room in Mayapur one day, and began to complain about the management. Srila Prabhupada said; “If you think you can do better, why don’t you?” Somehow, the disciple came out and announced that Srila Prabhupada had made him the temple commander, and he began to boss around the other devotees. Some devotees complained to Srila Prabhupada that the devotee had said that Prabhupada had made him the temple commander, and now he was barking orders at everyone. So Srila Prabhupada called for the devotee and instructed him; “First you become the servant of everyone! Then you become the temple commander.” Thus, Srila Prabhupada expressed the same idea—that a bigger position means becoming a bigger servant.

And Bhakti Charu Swami in paramparā, had that same understanding. If we listen carefully to all of Maharaja’s instructions, we can understand how closely he followed the disciplic succession. Some of his statements were very close to Srila Prabhupada’s words, and some took the basic principles that Srila Prabhupada gave, and sweetened them with his own realization.

Another of the many fine qualities exemplified by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami was his offenselessness. He was very careful not to commit any offense against any devotee or any living entity. And if he felt he had committed an offense, he immediately tried to mitigate the effects by approaching the person, apologizing and asking forgiveness. Somehow or other, he tried to rectify the offense. From our point of view we wouldn’t think he had committed an offense, but within his pure heart, he may have felt that he had, and immediately he would try to approach and please the person he feared he had offended, to remove the effects of the offense. Maharaja’s heart was very pure and very sensitive, full of appreciation for other devotees and sensitive to his own faults, which again, from our point of view weren’t even faults. That’s really the heart of a Vaishnava—full of love and appreciation for others, but sensitive to one’s own deficiencies, mistakes.

As stated by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Twelve Verses,13–14; (I’m obviously quoting this because I feel it describes His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja perfectly)

“One who is not envious, but is a kind friend to all living entities, (I’ll repeat that—one who is not envious, but is a kind friend to all living entities) who does not think himself a proprietor, is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind, and intelligence fixed on Me—such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.”

So, we know how dear His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja was, to Krishna, to Prabhupada, to all of us.

As Maharaja always reminded us—we have the wonderful association of the devotees and ISKCON. And through their association we can experience Srila Prabhupada’s presence. And along with Srila Prabhupada’s presence the presence of Srila Prabhupada’s dear and beloved associate, His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja. In fact, Srila Prabhupada said, ”That we will have another ISKCON in the spiritual sky.” So, we will all be reunited there, in that ISKCON of the spiritual sky.

One thought that comes to mind, was a small exchange that took place with Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja, when he came to California. He had performed an initiation of a disciple in San Diego, and I was also present with Maharaja for that initiation. And after the initiation, one of Maharaja’s disciples from the Santa Barbara area, which is where I have my ashram, said to Maharaja; “Now you have a disciple in Santa Barbara, so you’ll have to visit more often.” And Bhakti Charu looked at me with such love and affection, and he said; “I will come to Santa Barbara to visit Giriraj Maharaja.”

And I shared this exchange on occasion, and then I heard from disciples of Maharaja, that they also felt that, the way he said their names, was very special. When he said, “I will come to visit Giriraj Maharaja,” when he said “Giriraj Maharaja,” it was so special, so heartwarming! Later I heard from other disciples that they felt the same way when he spoke their names.

So, at the beginning I sang the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers, the vande-ham prayers and Srila Prabhupada has explained the significance of that, and I will relate that to His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja. So, we sing, vande ‘haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca; offering respects to the personal spiritual master, to the predecessor acharyas, and to all Vaishnavas. Srila Prabhupada explains, “The offering of respect to the spiritual master, means offering respect to all the previous acharyas. Gurun means plural number. All the acharyas, they are not different from one another, because they are coming in the disciplic succession, from the original spiritual master, and they have no different views. Thus we offer respects to the predecessors. Similarly, we offer respects to the followers.”

Srila Prabhupada explains further; “Spiritual master means they must have many followers who are all Vaishnavas. They are called Prabhus, and the spiritual master is called Prabhupada, because at his feet there are many Prabhus. . . pada means lotus foot. All these Vaishnavas are Prabhus, so they are also offered respectful obeisances. Not the spiritual master alone, but along with his associates. All these associates, his disciples, are all Vaishnavas, therefore they should also be offered respectful obeisances.”

And how I relate this to His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami? Of course, Maharaja is a Vaishnava. And he is one of the associates of Srila Prabhupada. But Maharaja, as many of you may know, was a strong opponent of the Ritvic theory. And once he said, ”That both, the Ritvic and we, want Srila Prabhupada to be at the center. But the difference is, that they want Srila Prabhupada to be in the center without associates, and we want Srila Prabhupada to be at the center with associates.” And that idea is very beautifully expressed here by Srila Prabhupada himself, in his explanation of this prayer, vande ‘ham.

So, we miss Maharaja, of course, but at the same time, we feel his presence through service. As Srila Prabhupada wrote in his dedication to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, dedicated to His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura; “He lives forever by his divine instructions, and the follower lives with him.” So, by serving Maharaja’s instructions, serving the causes that were dear to him, we can please him and feel his kind reciprocation.

Personally, I was blessed to work closely with Maharaja in many contexts. Of course, first, was in India during Srila Prabhupada’s presence. The first time I met Maharaja was actually in the bathroom. We had come to Allahabad for the mahā Kumbh Mela in 1977. As many of you know, every twelve years there is a Kumbha Mela, and every twelve Kumbha Melas, (That means, every 144 years) there is a mahā Kumbha Mela. So, 1977, was a mahā Kumbh Mela, and devotees from different parts of India came to attend the Kumbha Mela with Srila Prabhupada.

So, the first time I met Maharaja, was actually in the sort of makeshift bathroom at the Mela. And he was a new person to me. I hadn’t seen him before. So, I introduced myself and asked him who he was. . . and the way he replied, I could immediately understand that, here was a very gentle and cultured person. And then, sometime after the Kumbha Mela, Srila Prabhupada came to Juhu, and His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami came with him, and was part of Prabhupada’s personal staff, upstairs, in the west tower at Hare Krishna Land in Juhu. So I got to see Maharaja there, and do a little service with him.

And then, in due course, Srila Prabhupada went to Vrindavan to spend his last months. And Bhakti Charu Swami accompanied him, and rendered very intimate personal service to Srila Prabhupada during those last months, until the end.

And then, I was fortunate to be able to serve together with Maharaja in South Africa and Mauritius. I was the GBC, and for various reasons I wanted Maharaja to also help me in those places. So, we became co-GBCs in South Africa and Mauritius. Devotees, especially in Mauritius have very fond memories of those days.

And there is one picture that keeps surfacing every now and then. . . when Bhakti Charu Swami and I were at the ISKCON Vedic farm in Bon Accueil, in Mauritius. And it shows the two of us putting prasāda in the mouth of each other, and it was such wonderful times together! And once we were together there on a Pandava Nirjala-ekādaśī. We did the dry fasting, and he had a drink, I forget the exact recipe, but it was rock candy in milk and water. That was his recipe for breaking the Nirjala fast.

And the other day I had a very nice dream about him. And one thing that was prominent in the dream—I mean, it was a long dream and there were many elements—but one thing that was prominent in the dream was how much he loved the cows. How much he did for them, and was planning to do for them in Deland. So, he has left a great legacy of service in two ways – he has left a legacy of service that he performed for Srila Prabhupada and the paramparā during his lifetime, and he has also left a great legacy of service, in the sense of opportunities for us to render service to the projects that he began, and to the causes that were dear to him. So, we have a lifetime of service to him and to Srila Prabhupada, and then, by Srila Prabhupada’s grace, we hope to be reunited in the ISKCON in the spiritual sky. Hare Krishna!

So, I believe that our host wanted to give time for questions and comments. . . so Radha Vinode Prabhu, should we do that? What do you suggest?

Radha Vinod dasa: If you want to talk for a little more? Then, we can take the questions. I’m really enjoying the way you explain your,  līlā with Guru Maharaja! I’m sure everyone is enjoying hearing your wonderful kathā.

Giriraj Swami:  Okay, well, Maharaja would mercifully come and stay with me at my ashram here in Carpentaria California, which is like Santa Barbara. And he was fond of a verse by Prabodhananda Sarasvati, in a work called Caitanya-candrāmṛta. And the verse goes, yata yata gaura padāravinde, the basic idea is that to the extent that we are engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Gauranga, pada pada gaura padāravinde, and one is engaged in devotional service to Him, all of a sudden one’s heart will be flooded with the love of Srimati Radharani. So, let me see if I can find that exact one.

“As devotion unto the lotus feet of Sri Gaura is attained by a greatly pious person, inevitably the ocean of nectar which is the service of the lotus feet of Sri Radha, floods his heart.”

Once he came when His Holiness Indradyumna Swami was also staying here, and so the three of us had really nice times together. And Indradyumna Swami would travel with his deities, and worship Them very nicely. And Bhakti Charu Swami and I would be there with him when he did his deity worship. And we would have our talks and discussions. And the last time Maharaja came and stayed with me at my ashram, was a little before the Ratha-yatra in Los Angeles. So we spent time together at the Ratha-yatra. Devotees cooked; he had his cooks, I had my cooks. . . and the devotees set up a table, a pretty long table behind one of the tents. So we were behind the tent, between the tent and the ocean. We were honoring prasāda together. And that was another thing—he was such a great cook! He took such great pains. . . He was such a great host! He had very large quarters in Mayapur, the whole top floor. And he would host devotees, and he would arrange fantastic feasts!

My niece, she is nice, she is pious, but you can say a regular American young lady. . . so she went to India and visited different places, and she ended up in Mayapur. She ended up having a feast in Bhakti Charu Swami’s quarters in Mayapur. And she said it was the best prasāda! I don’t know if she used the word prasāda, but it was the best food she ever had. Maharaja was a great cook and a fantastic host!

And in a way I’m also benefiting from his service in a personal way, because one of his disciples is named Khandarpa Manjari, and she lives nearby in Ventura. They were in Santa Barbara, but anyway, they ended up getting a house in Ventura which is not far away. And H.H Bhakti Charu Swami arranged for her to spend time at the home of his disciple Chaitanya dasa, in Kolkata, because Chaitanya dasa’s wife, and maybe even more so mother, were excellent cooks. And Bhakti Charu Swami wanted his disciple Khandarpa Manjari to learn cooking from them, because he said that cooking is one of the best ways to please the Vaishnavas. And he wanted her to get the mercy of the Vaishnavas by learning to cook nicely, which she did. And the reason I say I’m benefiting from this, is because she cooks for me once a week, and it’s always a treat when I get to have her cooking. And Maharaja himself was an excellent cook. He put a lot of time and energy into getting the best ingredients, and the results were fantastic!

His birthday and my birthday are very close together. Of course, he would celebrate his Vyasa-puja on September 17th, to honor Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America. And my birthday was on September 13th. So quite often, in Durban especially, we had our Vyasa-pujas very close together. And those were great! He would attend my Vyasa-puja I would attend his Vyasa-puja, and we would relish glorifying each other. And I think on those occasions also, we would put birthday cake in each other’s mouths. . . So, it was really really fantastic!

So that last time, after he visited and we went to the Ratha-yatra in L.A. and as I mentioned, we had prasāda together. And there is a devotee named Kalakanta, who is the minister of cow protection. And he happened to be at the Ratha-yatra, and he was so appreciative of Maharaja’s service to the cows, and care for the cows.

Somehow, I remember Maggie’s noodles. I don’t remember exactly in detail the significance of Maggie’s noodles, but I know Maggie’s noodles played some part in Maharaja’s menu.

Devotee: We often hear, and obviously we are seeing Guru Maharaja leading by an example, how close he was to Srila Prabhupada, like you were and all the other sannyasis. We appreciate we have to follow all the instructions, but of course, the physical presence, it hurts not to have Maharaja on this planet. How do we deal with that Maharaja? Because the pain doesn’t go away!

Giriraj Swami: Well, there is a verse in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in the talks between Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Rai. And in that conversation, called Ramananda samvad, Lord Chaitanya took the position of asking questions and Rai Ramananda was the one to give the answers. And Lord Chaitanya asked; “What is the most painful experience?” And Ramananda replied; “Apart from separation from a devotee, I know of no other unbearable unhappiness!” So, that is the way it is.

But in a way it is good, although it’s painful, in a way it’s good, because it means that we are thinking of Guru Maharaja, and our feelings of separation, should encourage us to follow his instructions, because again that’s how we get his mercy and feel his presence, and also to qualify ourselves, to rejoin him in the ISKCON, in the spiritual world! But I’m just feeling that he is pleased with you and he is smiling in great happiness upon you.

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja! I’m sure everybody on this chat, and many more who haven’t joined, must be feeling like that, and that was a question on everyone’s behalf.

Another question is by His Grace Kanaya dasa and he has mentioned similar sort of question; “If we attach with any person or anything by which we can’t do our bhakti and sevā perfectly, how can we detach ourselves from them?”

Giriraj Swami: That’s a good question. He basically is asking, what if we have some attachment that is an obstacle to our devotional service? And I think of the tenth offense in the chanting of the holy names, which is—to not have complete faith in the holy name, and to maintain material attachments even after understanding so many instructions in the matter. So, it’s not an offense to have material attachments. It’s an anartha, but it’s not an offense. And when we chant, we are, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, we are undergoing a process of purification of heart, to free ourselves of material attachments and increase our spiritual attachment to Krishna and the paramparā. But if we chant and at the same time we are holding on to the attachments, then it’s contradictory and it’s offensive. So, by offenseless chanting, we should be able to free ourselves of material attachments that are obstacles to our spiritual progress.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that of the ten offenses, inattention, if we are inattentive while we are chanting, then all the other offenses can flourish. If we are attentive while chanting, then all the other offenses will be destroyed. So, yeah, attentive chanting is essential. And to facilitate attentive chanting, it’s favorable to rise early in the morning, chant during brāhma-muhūrta, chant in front of the deities, chant in front of Tulasi-devi, and chant in the association of sincere and serious chanters. That will help us in our chanting. And the effect of the chanting will be to free us from unwanted attachments. It’ll make us more attached to Krishna, and as we are more attached to Krishna, we will become more detached from maya.

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja. Just one request from Vinod Bihari Prabhuji, which I second and I am sure we all do. He is saying, “Hare Krishna, thank you so much for sharing so many nice sweet pastimes with Guru Maharaja. Maybe you could write a small book which will be a treasure for all of us godbrothers. By the way, do you have any picture of you feeding each other the birthday cake? Thank-you very much, Hare Krishna.” So that’s a request which we very much like to second.

And there is a couple of questions. One is; ”What was your last interaction with His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja?”

Giriraj Swami: I think that time he came and stayed with me. And then we went to the LA Ratha-yatra, and we had prasāda together. . . that’s my last memory.

Yadunath dasa: Could you say something about how after the guru’s departure, the disciples can continue to taste the relationship between them and their guru in a practical way?

Giriraj Swami: That’s a very good question. After Srila Prabhupada left, of course we were devastated, but we were also looking for guidance, just as the person who asked this question is. And I came across a section in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fourth Canto, Chapter Twenty-Eight, which specifically and explicitly discusses the departure of the spiritual master and how the disciples deal with it.

And It’s interesting, I was requested to give a twenty-minute video message about His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja, with instructions for the disciples about how to deal with his separation. And in that video message I quoted some of those portions from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and it’s really a very relevant section that will really answer questions about how. I can read a little from that. It also, in a way, not that not that we need permission, but in a way it does give the disciples permission to cry in separation from the spiritual master.

So, after our Srila Prabhupada left, I looked for solace and guidance in his books, and I came across a section that addressed the disappearance of the spiritual master. That was Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.45–55, and some passages encouraged me that my lamentation over Prabhupada’s departure was justified. And others, that I could regain his association by serving his instructions.

Text Forty-Seven states; “Being now alone and a widow in the forest, the daughter of Vidarbha began to lament, incessantly shedding tears, which soaked her breasts, and crying very loudly.” In his purport Srila Prabhupada explains; “Figuratively the queen is supposed to be the disciple of the king; thus when the mortal body of the spiritual master expires, his disciples should cry exactly as the queen cries when the king leaves his body. However, the disciple and spiritual master are never separated, because the spiritual master always keeps company with the disciple as long as the disciple follows strictly the instructions of the spiritual master. This is called the association of vāṇī (words). Physical presence is called vapuḥ.” We’ve heard this many times but, “As long as the spiritual master is physically present, the disciples should serve the physical body of the spiritual master, and when the spiritual master is no longer physically existing, the disciples should serve the instructions of the spiritual master.”

Then, there is further explanation about how the disciple can get detailed direction, because we may face situations in which we are not sure which of the instructions of the spiritual master we should follow in the specific context.

So, I think that’s something I would really recommend—that section in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-Eight, Texts Fifty-Four and Fifty-Five. It is full of relevant and important instructions about how to deal with the disappearance of the spiritual master. Here is just one. . . it all comes back to the same thing of following the instructions.

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport; “The perfect disciples of the acharya try to relieve their situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master.”

And also, in this section Srila Prabhupada describes Saha Marana, in which the wife perishes along with her husband in the funeral fire, and he mentions how after Maharaja Pandu left, there was a question about his two wives Madri and Kunti, whether they should both perish with him in the fire? And it was decided that only Madri would enter the fire, and Kunti would remain to look after the five sons, the Pandavas.

What Srila Prabhupada derives from this, is that the disciple should prefer to give up his life than to fail to execute the order or the mission of the spiritual master. And he says that in other words, one should be prepared to serve the spiritual master, giving up all personal considerations.

So, that’s certainly the way His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja served Srila Prabhupada, and that’s the way we can best serve him.

Devotee: Thank you very much. One last comment that I’m going to read, from Smitha Krishna Mataji’s; ”I’m remembering all your pastimes with my Guru Maharaja in South Africa. All those festivals, classes, and prasādam events together. He had great affection for you, and would chastise us disciples if we did not take good care of his godbrothers and godsisters.”

Kurostova: Could you please explain, you mentioned that Bhakti Charu Swami was an opponent of Ritvics. Are Christians and all followers of Jesus Christ, Ritvics? Or is there a paramparā from Jesus Christ?

Giriraj Swami: Kurostova, can you explain why you asked that question?

Kurostova: Why? Because in my previous life, it was a Christian life, and I thought that Christianity has paramparā. But now I understand they might have no paramparā. . . I just want to understand with more details about this.

Giriraj Swami: That’s a problem with Christianity and other religions such as Islam. And that is, the absence of paramparā. That is a problem. Therefore, the followers are often left to speculate about what the original teachings mean, or what is expected of them as followers. So, we are fortunate that we have this, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ. Paramparā is so important that it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, when Krishna saw that the paramparā was broken and that the knowledge was scattered, He came again and spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to reestablish the paramparā. So, the paramparā is our lifeline. We are very fortunate, but still, Prabhupada preached to Christians, and his main point to them was usually, “Thou shalt not kill.” Jesus said, “Thou shalt not kill.” Or the ten commandments say, ”Thou shalt not kill,” so they shouldn’t kill animals, they shouldn’t eat flesh. And that will help them to come to the mode of goodness. And then when they are in the mode of goodness, it will be easier for them to come to the transcendental stage.

Radha Vinod dasa: Thank you very much Maharaja! I’m sure everyone must have enjoyed listening to you. I wish I could just continue listening to this! Thank you Maharaja. I’m sure in the near future, if everything goes okay we may have the opportunity to serve you again, when you come round to London, or if not, I’ll come round there to serve you!