October 13, 2017
All glory to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga
The Uniqueness of the Divine Servitor An editorial edition Perhaps this question crossed your mind before, ‘Why did Srila Guru Maharaj chose Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj to be the next Acharya rather than follow the old ‘dictum’, the Guru is ‘selfeffulgent.’ I believe there is no shortcut answer to this and requires an extensive ‘precise and accurate’ explanations coming from above, from our Sri Guruvargas. And importantly, we need their ‘grace’ to unambiguously understand their apparent mystical and transcendental position. Therefore, let us use the words coming itself from the lips of the higher vaishnavas that described the unquestionable qualifications of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, as epitomed from his birth up to the time he joined Srila Guru Maharaj. In addition, we also heard that Srila Govinda Maharaj personally ‘served’ the stalwart Vaishnavas, the leading disciples of Bhagavan Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada, who oftentimes visited the Math and thereby, earning from them ‘certificates’ of recognition. Srila Gurudev have been in association with Srila Guru Maharaj for over forty 1
October 13, 2017
years, trained, nurtured, in the finest conception of Krsna-bhakti, culminating in parakiya-rasa which is within madhurya-rasa. Just after a week of joining the Math, we heard Srila Guru Maharaj publicly declared, to the consternation of oldtimers, His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj will be the next Acharya, and this was happily acknowledged and seconded by his revered Godbrothers. Borrowing the words of Srila Guru Maharaj, he says, (in describing Srila Govinda Maharaj) ‘He is unique in many ways…I even consider him to be more qualified than me.’ Imagine the Guru singing the glories of his disciple, which is unimaginable and unprecedented. It cannot be denied that many of us, if not all, came from the preaching of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Prabhupad Swami Maharaj. After his departure, during the turbulent years in Iskcon, we took shelter of Srila Sridhar Maharaj. But Srila Sridhar Maharaj is very unassuming, reluctant, and claiming to be old, blind, invalid, and sick, etc., but through the divine and ‘affectionate’ intercession of Srila Govinda Maharaj, Srila Guru Maharaj finally acceded and started the ‘relief operations.’ And we all know the history. In October of 1985, Srila Sridhar Maharaj personally took the hand of Srila Govinda Maharaj and made him sit on the highly revered chair called Vyasasan, as the Acharya. Now the trained has become the ‘trainor’. Ever vigilant, and protective of the teachings of Sri Rupa, the Rupanuga sampradaya as imbibed to him by the ‚Guardian of Devotion‛ himself. Recalling a story we heard in the Math, one day one of our sannyasi was chastised by Srila Gurudev for allowing himself to be enamored by the sahajiya section. All by just a song, a sahajiya song that they sung while in parikrama of Vraja-dham.. And on another occasion, a prominent sannyasi from outside gave his darshan inside the nath mandir, expressing his own
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October 13, 2017
teachings but not of Srila Guru Maharaj. Fuming, Srila Gurudev, heavily chastised those who allowed them. The glories of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj is un-ending, we start chanting about them since we came to know him many years ago, but still, today we are unable to reach the middle part, not yet on the last part… and eventually realized that there is none at all. Lastly, if he has not become our Acharya, ‘what then? In answer, Srila Guru Maharaj helped us to realize its intricacies through one song of Vasudev Ghosh: yadi gaura nā ha’ta, tabe ki ha-ita, kemane dharitām de rādhāra mahimā prema-rasa-sīmā jagate jānāta ke? ‚If Gauranga Mahaprabhu had not appeared in this mundane world, then how could anyone have understood Radha-Krishna and Their prem?‛ And if Srila Govinda Maharaj had not appeared and begged Srila Guru Maharaj then, how can we be under the shade of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math? We could not have understood the supreme love and beauty of Radha and Krsna. We are so fortunate that we have now got that conception. Maybe not fully, but some percentage we have got and that is enough. Eka-bindu jagat dubaya(Cc. 3.15.19), ‚One drop can overflood the world.‛ Srila Swami Maharaj and Srila Guru Maharaj have given that type of mercy and that type of Krishna-prem. By their mercy we are enlightened and trying to practise Krishna consciousness.
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October 13, 2017
Srila Govinda Maharaj has stated, ‚We do not want to know who is good, who is bad, or who is better than others. Why? It is not necessary to criticize anyone. Only we will be chaste to our Guru Mahārāj, and we will follow our Guru Mahārāj’s conception. Bās [‚That is enough‛]. That is clear to me, and Śrīla Guru Mahārāj taught us in that way… Otherwise, we will deviate: different opinions, conceptions, and principles can make our mind deviate. We do not want that. Gaura Hari bol!
Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan Philippines Is the official electronic-internet magazine published by Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh Philippines – Śrī Nāma Hāééa Center U.P. Campus, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 E-mail: scsmathphilippines@yahoo.com scsnamahatta@gmail.com For details, pls. contact us at: (+63)09498332414
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