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Cry for the Sun
C hapter 11 t he G lories of B hu B aneswar
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Çréla Prabhupäda had accepted many Western disciples and taught them the glories of Puruñottama-kñetra Jagannätha Purédhäma, where Mahäprabhu performed His pastimes. He had also established the Ratha-yäträ car festival of Lord Jagannätha all over planet earth. But when his Western disciples went to visit Jagannätha Puré they were refused entrance to the famous Lord Jagannätha temple. They were mistreated and even to the present day they are not allowed to enter the Jagannätha temple.1
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Dissatisfaction for Orissa
When they reported this to Çréla Prabhupäda he became very sad. He had been preaching Mahäprabhu’s and Lord Jagannätha’s glories throughout the world, and now the people from Puré would not allow his disciples entrance into the temple. This gave Prabhupäda a very great shock and he was very much sorry for the situation. He thus developed a sense of sulkiness. After this incident Çréla Prabhupäda said that he would not travel to Orissa, especially to Jagannätha Puré. Jagannätha Puré is a favourite place of Çrémän Caitanya Mahäprabhu, so how could Çréla Prabhupäda, who is such a dear devotee of Mahäprabhu and who has cent percent received the mercy of Mahäprabhu, in this way spread the message of Mahäprabhu throughout the world and fulfill the prophesies that Mahäprabhu gave?2
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Jagannātha Will Come to Bhubaneswar
As we have already read, after Çréla Gour Govinda Swami’s hari-näma initiation in Mäyäpura, Çréla Prabhupäda said to Çréla Gour Govinda Swami:
“You will take me to Orissa”.
Çréla Prabhupäda placed that responsibility on Çréla Gour Govinda Swami’s head. Çréla Prabhupäda said to him, “I will build a temple in Bhubaneswar similar to the Jagannätha Temple in Jagannätha Puré, because my Western disciples are not allowed there. Lord Jagannätha will come and stay in Bhubaneswar. In this way, all my disciples can go there and have His darçana”.3
I Leave All My Mercy Here
I reiterate, that prior to leaving the Bhubaneswar project, Çréla Prabhupäda dug his cane into the ground there and said, “I leave all my mercy here. I leave all my mercy here. I leave all my mercy here.”
So, where did he leave that mercy? In the buildings, that were not there! In the ground, or the trees or the animals that were roaming wild in that area. No! He left that mercy there with that one lone sädhu, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, who spearheaded the Orissa (Odisha) ISKCON preaching. In the land of Lord Jagannätha, the place where the Golden Avatära Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu completed His manifest pastimes; without the presence of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, there would have been no ISKCON preaching and temple established there. No one else could have done it! No one!
CHAPTER TWELVE
Only a Great Vaiṣṇava
Chaptertwelve
Only a Great Vaiṣṇava
Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: ‘When Çréla Prabhupäda left Bhubaneswar so did most of the devotees. At that time an Oriya boy, Vaiñëava däsa, was with me, but he has since left, and there was another sannyäsé, who has now left also, so just Bhägavata and myself were left.
Kratu däsa: The first time I came to Mäyäpura was in 1977... In one room were two sannyäsés from Venezuela, and the other room was occupied by Gour Govinda Mahäräja and one other devotee. Every morning after maìgala-ärati I would come for japa to the room to see my friends and we were walking around [pacing up and down] and I used to see Gour Govinda Mahäräja standing up, right there near the pillar of the veranda and looking towards the mandir, the Mäyäpura Mandir. He was looking, but his eyes were not there, he was not there, he was recently a new sannyäsé, like one or two years. I saw him, and I was captured, my attention went to him. He never wore a sannyäsé dhoté, like a regular ISKCON style, long; he always wore it short, three quarter length, and you could see his feet and legs, and he was always embracing his daëòa. So nice, so sweet. Because I am a very low-class person, I do not have the ability, to know who is a high or low person, but somehow by the blessing of my guru, I got some hint, and I could see that Gour Govinda Mahäräja is a
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very advanced devotee, a pure devotee of the Lord, because I could see in his face that he had no interest in this world. He was very simple, very quiet, always reluctant [to be public], behind the curtain, always behind all the other sannyäsés, very humble and very nice.... Many people tried to approach him and touch his feet, and he would be walking backwards, saying, “No, no I am a päñaëòé; do not touch me, do not touch my feet.” He would always tell everyone, “I am a päñaëòé, I am a päñaëòé. I am an offender.”*
Only a Great Vaiṣṇava
Devadharma däsa was in Bhubaneswar from August 1976 until the time of the Mäyäpura festival of 1977. When Çréla Prabhupäda left with all the devotees for Mäyäpura, Devadharma stayed behind. He was eager to stay with Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami, but it was too isolated for him and living such an austere life was too hard for him.
* One should not touch the lotus feet of a saintly person or sannyäsé with his enjoyment-prone body or sinful body. If the saintly person becomes displeased because of our touching his lotus feet, then it will certainly create inauspiciousness for us. Sannyäsé devotees do not like people touching their feet. It has currently become a fashion, a disease, to touch the lotus feet of guru and sädhu. We should pay close attention to whether the spiritual master and Kåñëa are being pleased by each one of our actions. If we do not do so, then we will dig our own grave. Let me tell those who, under the control of their emotions, attempt to touch the feet of a sannyäsé like me. In the language of my spiritual master, “Why should they dare to stretch their hands to take dust from the feet of the saintly persons? Is such boldness proper? What qualification do they have? What right?” An attached householder, who has no real interest in serving the saint, is certainly unjustified in touching his lotus feet. Better that we offer one another obeisances from a distance. If an attached householder forcibly tries to touch the saint’s feet, it means his mind is attracted to gross matter. That will cause him more harm than good. Those who desire fortune should carefully refrain from committing such offensive activities. (Amåta Väëé, Nectar of Instructions of Immortality, page 261, by Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda)
