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The Glories of Sādhu Saṅga
C hapter 1 S annyä S é Ö häkura
he had changed his name to Gour Gopälänanda däsa, and upon receiving initiation, Çréla Prabhupäda called him Gour Govinda däsa. Now his name would again change to the sannyäsé title Swami - “Gour Govinda Swami.”**
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Under the Order of a Bona Fide Sad-Guru
On this very day in the year of 1975, the great aspiration of the life of Brajabandhu Manik, now Gour Govinda däsa, would be realised: he would take sannyäsa and go out to preach the mission of Mahäprabhu under the guidance of a bona fide sad-guru, his spiritual master, His Divine Grace Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda.
As Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda writes in his Bhagavad-gétä commentary:
“...Anyone who has no other interest but to dedicate his life to the service of the Lord is actually a sannyäsé. Such a person always thinks of himself as an eternal servant, dependent on the supreme will of the Lord. As such, whatever he does, he does it for the benefit of the Lord. Whatever action he performs, he performs it as service to the Lord. He does not give serious attention to the fruitive activities or prescribed duties mentioned in the Vedas...” (Bhagavad-gétä 9.28, puprort)
The opening of the temple has been described in the Çréla Prabhupäda-lélämåta in the following way:
**Author’s note: One who has taken sannyäsa is called a swami, or goswami, which literally means one who has become the master of his senses.
A lwAys E mbr A c E d by K åñë A
16 April 1975
“When Çréla Prabhupäda finally arrived to conduct the Kåñëa-Balaräma Mandira opening, he was pleasantly surprised to see the three tall domes rising over the temple. The domes had been entirely constructed during the eight months since his last visit. The four-storey international guesthouse had also been completely built during his absence. Surabhi had supervised workers in day and night shifts to get everything done on time. The tall central dome and two side domes, one over each altar, were magnificent... They could be seen for miles, rising boldly above the landscape of Våndävana, proclaiming the worship of Kåñëa and Balaräma. 1
20 April 1975
Çréla Prabhupäda installed the Deities during the grand opening of the Kåñëa-Balaräma Mandira. Almost a thousand disciples were present, and the governor of Uttar Pradesh was the guest of honour. After years of hard endeavour, the grand opening was a climactic triumph for Çréla Prabhupäda and his movement. While still standing at the altar after having offered the first ärati to Kåñëa-Balaräma, Prabhupäda addressed the crowd, explaining that this was an international temple, where people from all over the world could come to worship and take shelter of Gaura-Nitäi, Kåñëa-Balaräma and Rädhä-Kåñëa. 2
He Was a Very Natural Sannyāsī
During the opening of the Çré Çré Kåñëa-Balaräma Temple and the installation of the Deities Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi, Çré Çré Kåñëa-Balaräma and Çré Çré Rädhä-Çyämasundara, Çréla
C hapter 1 S annyä S é Ö häkura
Prabhupäda also initiated numerous devotees from all around the world. Åddha däsa from England vividly remembers the initiations and the sannyäsa initiation of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami:
Åddha däsa: The first time I came across Gour Govinda Swami was when I was in Våndävana in 1975, at the opening of the Kåñëa-Balaräma Mandira. I was on my way to South Africa. There were initiations taking place in the courtyard of the Kåñëa-Balaräma Temple and during that time Çréla Prabhupäda was giving initiation to many people from all over the world. Most of the devotees who came up and took vows from Çréla Prabhupäda were, just accepting their beads and repeating their vows in front of Çréla Prabhupäda. Then the most astounding thing took place. Actually, it was set up, a little bit, by the new devotees that were taking initiation from Çréla Prabhupäda. Çréla Prabhupäda had to explain to them the meaning of initiation, but when Gour Govinda Mahäräja came up, well, he took over the whole show because he gave a spontaneous speech to Çréla Prabhupäda on the glories of the guru. Çréla Prabhupäda went into a sort of trance when he heard this. His offering was quite lengthy and it was all in Sanskrit. Çréla Prabhupäda was very taken back and was practically crying. Çréla Prabhupäda glorified Gour Govinda Mahäräja very much. He said this is how to glorify the spiritual master. He was very much taken by the offering of Gour Govinda Mahäräja. I never forgot it; it is something you do not forget. Çréla Prabhupäda was really taken aback. Gour Govinda Mahäräja seemed a very natural sannyäsé. There were many taking initiation at that time; there was one French devotee and Çréla Prabhupäda asked him what are the four regulative principles. The boy said, “No meat, fish or eggs; no gambling, no intoxication and no sex.” Then Çréla Prabhupäda said, “No! I didn’t say no sex, I said no illicit sex.”
A lwAys E mbr A c E d by K åñë A
Then Çréla Prabhupäda explained that you can have sex as a gåhastha but not illicit sex, and that was all around the same time. Many of the devotees were coming up to Çréla Prabhupäda to get their beads and they were nervous. However when Gour Govinda Mahäräja came up to take sannyäsa, he was very natural.*
çré-bhagavän uväca anäçritaù karma-phalaà käryaà karma karoti yaù sa sannyäsé ca yogé ca na niragnir na cäkriyaù
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated, is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no duty.” 10
Çréla Prabhupäda quoted this verse and said, “He is a real sannyäsé,” and then gave him the sannyäsa daëòa.
* Author’s note: In Back to Godhead Magazine, they had this to say about Çréla Gour Govinda Swami’s sannyäsa:
“...Gaura Govinda Swami met Çréla Prabhupäda in Våndävana in 1974, after having travelled as a mendicant for six months to holy places throughout India. In 1975, at the opening of ISKCON’s Kåñëa-Balaräma Temple in Våndävana, Çréla Prabhupäda accepted him as a disciple and awarded him sannyäsa, the renounced order of life...” (BTG #27.02, 1993)
