makhanmisri

Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.9.25: so ’säv adabhra-karuëo bhagavän vivåddha- prema-smitena nayanämburuhaà vijåmbhan utthäya viçva-vijayäya ca no viñädaà mädhvyä giräpanayatät puruñaù puräëaù “The Lord, who is supreme and is the oldest of all, is unlimitedly merciful. I wish that He may smilingly bestow His benediction upon me by opening His lotus eyes. He can uplift the entire cosmic creation and remove our dejection by kindly speaking His directions.” Purport The Lord is ever increasingly merciful upon the fallen souls of this material world. The whole cosmic manifestation is a chance for all to improve themselves in devotional service to the Lord, and everyone is meant for that purpose. The Lord expands Himself into many personalities who are either self-expansions or separated expansions. The personalities of the individual souls are His separated expansions, whereas the self-expansions are the Lord Himself. The self-expansions are predominators, and the separated expansions are predominated for reciprocation of transcendental bliss with the supreme form of bliss and knowledge. The liberated souls can join in this blissful reciprocation of predominator and predominated without materially concocted ideas. The typical example of such a transcendental exchange between the predominator and the predominated is the Lord’s räsa-lélä with the gopés. The gopés are predominated expansions of the internal potency, and therefore the Lord’s participation in the räsa-lélä dance is never to be considered like the mundane relationship of man and woman. It is, rather, the highest perfectional stage of the exchange of feelings between the Lord and the living entities. The Lord gives the fallen souls the chance for this highest perfection of life. Lord Brahmä is entrusted with the management of the complete cosmic show, and therefore he prays that the Lord bestow His blessings upon him so that he may execute its purpose.

I'm not sure that it is the same one, but the Nrsimha mantra was given by Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati to his disciple Srila Puri Maharaja. As far as I know, he was the only person who received it, and the only person he in turn gave it to was H.H. Indradyumna Maharaja of ISKCON. MDd

avatArAH santv anye sarasija-nayanasya sarvatobhadrAH kRSNAd anyaH ko vA prabhavati go-gopa-gopikA-muktyai? "There may be other incarnations of the lotus-eyed Lord; they are all-auspicious. But who other than Lord Krishna appeared to deliver the cows, cowherds, and gopis?"

"I had a long debate with some vaisnava's concerning the identity of Radha,the Gopis,and Sri Caitanya. It is very interesting and complex,I would like to hear comments from the assembled vaisnava's." How about this for Radha-tattva: ete laksmana janaki-virahitam mam khedayanty ambuda marmaniva ca ghattayanty alam ami krurah kadambanilah | ittham vyahrta-purva-janma-carito yo radhaya viksitah sersyam sankitaya sa nah sukhayatu svapnayamano harih || 'O Laksmana, bereft of Janaki, these clouds merely pain me. The [now] cruel, kadamba-scented breezes torment me, to my very soul.' May the sleeping Lord Hari--whom the vexed and suspicious Srimati Radharani saw murmuring His previous life's affairs like this--delight us all.

ramo nama babhuva hum tad-abala siteti hum tam pitur vaca pancavati-vane viharatas tasyharad ravanah | nidrartham janaki-katham iti harer hum-karatah srnvatah saumitre kva dhanur dhanur dhanur iti vyagra girah pantu nah || [Mother Yasoda is telling Sri Krsna a story:] "There was once a king named Rama." "Mm-hm." "His wife was Sita." "Mm-hm." As they went to the Pancavati forest by his father's order, Ravana kidnapped her." The story was intended to put Him to sleep, and Hari was responding, "Mm-hmm," as He listened. [but upon] hearing about Janaki, He [suddenly jumped up and] said-"Laksmana! My bow, my bow! Where's My bow!" May these agitated words protect us all. This verse is attributed to Srila Bilvamangala Thakura.

"Just as a spider brings forth from its heart its web and emits it through its mouth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as the reverberating primeval vital air, comprising all sacred Vedic meters and full of transcendental pleasure. Thus the Lord, from the ethereal sky of His heart, creates the great and limitless Vedic sound by the agency of His mind, which conceives of variegated sounds such as the sparsas. The Vedic sound branches out in thousands of directions, adorned with the different letters expanded from the syllable om: the consonants, vowels, sibilants and semivowels. The Veda is then elaborated by many verbal varieties, expressed in different meters, each having four more syllables than the previous one. Ultimately the Lord again withdraws His manifestation of Vedic sound within Himself."

In accordance with the particular nature one has acquired in conditioned life, whatever one does with body, words, mind, senses, intelligence or purified consciousness one should offer to the Supreme, thinking, “This is for the pleasure of Lord Narayana.” Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion, called maya. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul. Although the duality of the material world does not ultimately exist, the conditioned soul experiences it as real under the influence of his own conditioned intelligence. This imaginary experience of a world separate from Krsna can be compared to the acts of dreaming and desiring. When the conditioned soul dreams at night of something desirable or horrible, or when he daydreams of what he would like to have or avoid, he creates a reality that has no existence beyond his own imagination. The tendency of the mind is to accept and reject various activities based on sense gratification. Therefore an intelligent person should control the mind, restricting it from the illusion of seeing things separate from Krsna, and when the mind is thus controlled he will experience actual fearlessness. Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.2.36-38

In Jiva Gosvami's Gopala-campu (1.8.4), Yasoda sings to Bala-Krsna: "Here you are--O ornament of the noble family of Gokula's king! All the residents of Vrajadhama must have performed pious acts to receive the happiness you've brought them. You are the delightful cynosure of all their eyes. Your birthday celebration brought great bliss and delighted the cowherd community. With the killing of Putana, you've thus engaged Gokula's king in a host of auspicious deeds. Becoming impatient with the demon Sakata--you fixed his wagon. Knocking the wind out of Trnavarta, the Supreme Lord brought you back to us. You have lotus eyes, you're supremely pious, and you sweetly crawl about in the courtyard. You show us your expertise in various sports and various musical dances. O beautifully charming boy, you catch the tails of the calves and play among them. You always cleverly tell lies, out of greed, whenever bantering amidst the elder gopis. I'm your mother; may you always bring me more and more happiness. You're always so eager to play in various ways. May you grow up big and strong. [My vision of] the three worlds within your mouth was undoubtedly just some display of Visnu-maya. By worshipping Lord Visnu, beyond old age and death, may you always give us much happiness!"

"The way Maharaja related to his godbrothers and male discilps whom were within his close range were very diffrent that they way his may of treated a say Indian gentlemen or lady comming to hear him speak." He probably learned this from Srila Prabhupada, who was like this too. Keen discrimination is the key characteristic of anyone who functions as a madhyama adhikari, just as utility, or strategy if you will, is the principle. "We also can never agree with some of his plocies of removeing many of the last insruction of Srila prabhupada he recorded while being His Divine Graces secertary." From what you've described (and I won't argue about it), this sounds to me a bit like a conspiracy theory. "No one may decide to step over the head of Shri Guru without reprecussions." Yes, many of us can see this. "What is good for devotional service we should reveal what is an obstalce and doesnt draw closer to Krishna we should be expert enough to not to reveal even it may be the truth ,we must see the long staying effects" This is in fact why I responded to your post in which you made some very harsh, needless, and in my view injurious comments. Frankly, I think you should aplogize, but it's your choice. "This Goswami Maharaja was very expert at speaking words which he felt would produce certian currents he felt the society need to move in." The word for this is prerogative, also known as "adhikara." Some people have it and others don't. Let he who is without worse faults cast stones. I would rather try to regard his holiness just as Rupa Gosvami regarded his elder brother--or at least the way Prahlada regarded even Sanda and Amarka. I can't see that Vaisnava tradition teaches anyone to do otherwise. "We will have to encourge the information of how these tapes were lost or how they can be recovered I am now in the process of Contacting Sankarsan Prabhu" Good luck; I wish you the best, MDd

"The way Maharaja related to his godbrothers and male discilps whom were within his close range were very diffrent that they way his may of treated a say Indian gentlemen or lady comming to hear him speak." He probably learned this from Srila Prabhupada, who was like this too. Keen discrimination is the key characteristic of anyone who functions as a madhyama adhikari, just as utility, or strategy if you will, is the principle. "We also can never agree with some of his plocies of removeing many of the last insruction of Srila prabhupada he recorded while being His Divine Graces secertary." From what you've described (and I won't argue about it), this sounds to me a bit like a conspiracy theory. "No one may decide to step over the head of Shri Guru without reprecussions." Yes, many of us can see this. "What is good for devotional service we should reveal what is an obstalce and doesnt draw closer to Krishna we should be expert enough to not to reveal even it may be the truth ,we must see the long staying effects" This is in fact why I responded to your post in which you made some very harsh, needless, and in my view injurious comments. Frankly, I think you should aplogize, but it's your choice. "This Goswami Maharaja was very expert at speaking words which he felt would produce certian currents he felt the society need to move in." The word for this is prerogative, also known as "adhikara." Some people have it and others don't. Let he who is without worse faults cast stones. I would rather try to regard his holiness just as Rupa Gosvami regarded his elder brother--or at least the way Prahlada regarded even Sanda and Amarka. I can't see that Vaisnava tradition teaches anyone to do otherwise. "We will have to encourge the information of how these tapes were lost or how they can be recovered I am now in the process of Contacting Sankarsan Prabhu" Good luck; I wish you the best, MDd

para-svabhava-karmani na prasamsen na garhayet | visvam ekatmakam pasyan prakrtya purusena ca || “One should see that because of the meeting of material nature and the living entity, the universe is acting uniformly. Thus one should neither praise nor criticize the characteristics or activities of others." Bhagavata 11.28.1

para-svabhava-karmani na prasamsen na garhayet | visvam ekatmakam pasyan prakrtya purusena ca || “One should see that because of the meeting of material nature and the living entity, the universe is acting uniformly. Thus one should neither praise nor criticize the characteristics or activities of others." Bhagavata 11.28.1

The Devas said to lord Siva (Bhagavata, 8.7.33): "Exalted, self-satisfied persons who preach to the entire world think of your lotus feet constantly within their hearts. However, when persons who do not know your austerity see you moving with Uma, they misunderstand you to be lusty, or when they see you wandering in the crematorium they mistakenly think that you are ferocious and envious. Certainly they are shameless. They cannot understand your activities."

"We need not say his name, as it is too sweet to use in relationship to himself," Sweet it is and I disagree. That his high class admirers are practically innumerable may be intolerable for some, but not for negligible reasons; how many truly jewel-like Vaisnavas have chosen to worship you or I instead? Please, let's give some careful reflection to Bhagavata 10.4.46, or at least 11.28.1 (which you may find most relevent), if not also 10.14.8 and 11.26.31-34, etc. Thanks for your understanding, sensitivity, "sama-darsana," and charitable spirit. Hare Krsna! Your servant, MDd

"We need not say his name, as it is too sweet to use in relationship to himself," Sweet it is and I disagree. That his high class admirers are practically innumerable may be intolerable for some, but not for negligible reasons; how many truly jewel-like Vaisnavas have chosen to worship you or I instead? Please, let's give some careful reflection to Bhagavata 10.4.46, or at least 11.28.1 (which you may find most relevent), if not also 10.14.8 and 11.26.31-34, etc. Thanks for your understanding, sensitivity, "sama-darsana," and charitable spirit. Hare Krsna! Your servant, MDd

All glories to Srila Tamala Krsna Gosvami Maharaja! Dandavats, vaishnavas. Jaya 108 nitya-lila-pravista Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! Jaya 108 nitya-lila-pravista Sri Srimat Tamala Krsna Gosvami Maharaja Gurudeva! I thought of Mayapura shortly after hearing of the accident, and the following line by the Braj poet Suradasa came to mind (he sang in the voice of the gopis who so acutely felt Krsna's absence): binu gopala bairini bhai kunjai--i.e., "Without Gopala, even the forest of Vrndavana has now become our enemy." I feel like we've lost at least three-fourths of ISKCON itself, though maybe not everyone will see why. What's undeniable is that ISKCON from now on will never be quite the same; we can only hope that things get better than worse. To vouchsafe the former, we will all have to work as hard as Tamala Krsna Maharaja would push us if he were personally still giving his inimitable directions. However, none of us can ever really replace H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami, and frankly I'm not sure even all of us together can do so either. I don't know anyone whom Srila Prabhupada trusted as much as Tamala Krsna Gosvami Maharaja, nor anyone else who was so closely associated, and so often associated, with Srila Prabhupada. His followers may rightly feel lost now without the personal guidance of such a fitting master, someone from whom even so many GBCs and other senior devotees regularly sought guidance themselves. H.H. Rtadhvaja Maharaja, who several years ago literally moved into Tamala Krsna Gosvami's hospital room while the latter underwent major surgery, and served Gosvami maharaja menially, round the clock--like Isvarapuri served his guru Madhavendrapuri, even though he is a godbrother. He told me that he experienced that many times a week various GBCs and sannyasis would always call up Tamala Krsna Gosvami to find out what Srila Prabhupada did in this or that circumstance, or what his Divine grace's policy was on this or that issue. Of all of these great souls, only Tamala Krsna Gosvami knew such things beyond doubt. Perhaps this gives some idea of the lacuna we now have. However, this painful occurance repeats itself with every generation. For those who similarly felt like they had lost the captain of their ship, or their "guru-karnadhara" (Bhagavata, 11.20.17), Srila Prabhupada said this, upon his own guru's disappearance in 1936 (SSR chapter 2): "Gentlemen, the offering of such an homage as has been arranged this evening to the acaryadeva is not a sectarian concern, for when we speak of the fundamental principle of gurudeva, or acaryadeva, we speak of something that is of universal application. There does not arise any question of discriminating my guru from yours or anyone else's. There is only one guru, who appears in an infinity of forms to teach you, me, and all others." ". . . The Vedas enjoin us to seek out a guru; actually, they say to seek out the guru, not just a guru. The guru is one because he comes in disciplic succession. What Vyasadeva and Krsna taught five thousand years ago is also being taught now. There is no difference between the two instructions. Although hundreds and thousands of acaryas have come and gone, the message is one. The real guru cannot be two, for the real guru does not speak differently from his predecessors. . . . The guru may be this person or that, but the message is the same; therefore it is said that guru is one." Actually, any and all gurus merely represent Krsna, who appears in some form whenever there is a decline in religion or a rise in irreligion. As Krsna says in Gita (4.11, 10.10, etc.), He always helps those who seek Him, one way or another (cf. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.26.32). Those who have been scrupulous enough to assimilate the teachings of Srila Prabhupada's books and their instructions received from Srila Tamala Krsna Gosvami, now have to utilize this god-given discrimination in order to recognize the further guidance they receive from his Divine grace, even though it may come through any potential number of diverse agents. An example of this principle has been given regarding Aurobindo Ghosh, the erstwhile freedom fighter and mystic. Aurobindo used to write inflammatory political essays in Calcutta during India's independence struggle, which resulted in his being arrested and eventually forced underground. However, he continued writing under so many pen names, though his followers (and even the British) could nevertheless understand from the content and style of these articles that it was none other than Aurobindo writing them. His audience had internalized his message to that extent. So it is with the disciples in the physical absence of their bonafide guru. I've recently heard many realizations regarding this tragedy, from senior devotees and admirers of H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami. Such atma-tattva can help those suffering the tremendous pain of separation from their guru. I was recently in Houston, where most of the devotees are H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami's disciples. There, H.H. Rtadhvaja Maharaja, Gosvami Maharaja's godbrother and intimate associate, related this personal experience. At a Houston temple program shortly after the news broke, a guest who had never even been to the temple before asked why everyone was crying. Maharaja explained to him that we had all just lost one of the greatest devotees of Srila Prabhupada, one whose preaching made many other senior devotees and who was very, very dear to Srila Prabhupada--one of his most dependable servants. The boy then told Maharaja, "We should actually all be joyous, because now, while dutifully serving, he has gloriously gone on to the supreme goal, beyond all suffering." Maharaja said he felt this was the voice of guru-vani. Those who were in touch with Tamala Krsna Gosvami in recent times know that he also encouraged his many, many disciples to take shelter of other siksa-gurus who inspired them, almost as if he knew he was leaving soon (which in fact something he said he felt, even several years ago). Those who faithfully represent him are another way by which his vani is still available. Here are some statements from Srila Prabhupada that may also help ease some of the separation H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami's disciples are now feeling: Letter to: Uddhava Los Angeles 5 March, 1968 68-03-05 My Dear Uddhava, Please accept my blessings. I am just in receipt of your letter forwarded from New York. Please be happy in separation. I am separated from my Guru Maharaja since 1936 but I am always with him so long I work according to his direction. So we should all work together for satisfying Lord Krishna and in that way the feeling of separation will transform into transcendental bliss. . . . Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Letter to: Syamasundara Los Angeles 19 July, 1970 70-07-19 "So let us meet by Sankirtana. I also do not feel separation from my Guru Maharaja. When I am engaged in His service His pictures give me sufficient strength. To serve the Spiritual Master's word is more important than to serve him physically. Please try to open as many branches as possible in European countries." Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Similarly, this was said on a morning walk (on July 21, 1975) in San Francisco: Narayana: "Guru-krpa only comes by pleasing the spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada?" Prabhupada: "Otherwise how?" Narayana: "Excuse me?" Prabhupada: "Otherwise how it can come?" Narayana: "So those disciples who don't have opportunity to see you or speak with you..." Prabhupada: "That he was speaking, vani and vapu. Even if you don't see his body, you take his word, vani." Narayana: "But how do they know they're pleasing you, Srila Prabhupada? Prabhupada: "If you actually follow the words of guru, that means he is pleased. And if you do not follow, how he can be pleased?" Sudama: "Not only that, but your mercy is spread everywhere, and if we take advantage, you told us once, then we will feel the result." Prabhupada: "Yes." Jayadvaita: "And if we have faith in what the guru says, then automatically we'll do that." Prabhupada: "Yes. My Guru Maharaja passed in 1936, and I started this movement in 1965, thirty years after. Then? I am getting the mercy of guru. This is vani. Even the guru is not physically present, if you follow the vani, then you are getting help." Sudama: "So there's no question of ever separation as long as the disciple follows the instruction of guru." Prabhupada: "No. Cakhu-dan dilo jei... What is that, next one?" Sudama: "Cakhu-dan dilo jei, janme janme prabhu sei." Prabhupada: "Janme janme prabhu sei. So where there is separation? Who has opened your eyes, he is birth after birth your prabhu." These quotes seem fairly representative of Srila Prabhupada's position on this topic. Actually, I can't find any references in which Srila Prabhupada expresses separation from his guru maharaja. Vani-seva is an eternal connection. Another dear godbrother of Tamala Krsna Gosvami, H.H. Hrdayananda Gosvami, wrote the following purport (Bhagavatam 11.18.39): ". . . A devotee who has been blessed by his guru with spiritual knowledge becomes qualified to directly engage in the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Prabhupada always emphasized that service to the spiritual master in separation, pushing on the mission of the guru, is the highest form of devotional service. The word paricaret in this verse indicates waiting upon one's master by rendering personal service. In other words, one who has not clearly realized the teachings of his spiritual master should remain very close to the guru to avoid falling down into illusion, but one who has acquired realized knowledge by the mercy of his spiritual master may expand the spiritual master's mission by traveling around the world to preach Krsna consciousness." Those who knew H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami also know that this absorption in the mission of Srila Prabhupada is definitely what he would now expect, or even demand, of his followers. I remember that after Srila Prabhupada's physical demise in 1977, H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami immediately focused his entire attention (and any of Tamala Krsna Gosvami's attention was always considerable) on helping the devotees of ISKCON and on his own responsibility to it as one of Srila Prabhupada's foremost representatives; this spirit is reflected in his 1978 Vyasa-puja homage to Srila Prabhupada, which is well worth reading. I regret that because of also being his godbrother, Tamala Krsna Gosvami's depth and glory was never before so clear to me, as it is now that we are all forced to compare others to him. As they say, we too rarely appreciate what we have until it's gone. Recognition of this misfortune really stings now. Unbelievable determination and ambition were two major characteristics of Tamala Krsna Gosvami; he was simply never content with anything less than superexcellence. In Houston recently, H.H. Guruprasada Maharaja also emphasized the point that as determined leadership was one of Tamala Krsna Gosvami's hallmarks, it is only meet that those who follow him will emulate that qualification along with all his others. He added that Krsna will arrange to bring about such full surrender in all of us. H.H. Guruprasada Maharaja also appreciated that--as Srila Prabhupada said about Krsna consciousness itself--H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami could often be "too hot to bear, yet too sweet to resist." He was nothing if not a controller; however, he was never inconsiderate, nor incompetent, nor was he irresponsible. In his own unique and inscrutably contradictory way, he was also profoundly humble and amazingly sensitive, though it took me decades to appreciate this. The following verse depicts him perfectly (Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 7.73): "The hearts of those above the common people are sometimes harder than a thunderbolt and sometimes softer than a flower. What controller can accommodate such contradictions?" Like Srila Prabhupada--perhaps even because of Srila Prabhupada--Tamala Krsna Gosvami was unquestionably intense. However, a selfless, compassionate, powerful, and in general, genuinely qualified authority are always needed (if not always appreciated) in this world; Tamala Krsna Gosvami was one of these rare souls. Those who would now follow in his footsteps have a lot of work to do. However, with his vani, they also have the means to do it (Bhagavata 10.2.31): "O Lord, who resemble the shining sun, You are always ready to fulfill the desire of Your devotee, and therefore You are known as a desire tree [vancha-kalpataru]. When acaryas completely take shelter under Your lotus feet in order to cross the fierce ocean of nescience, they leave behind on earth the method by which they cross, and because You are very merciful to Your other devotees, You accept this method to help them." There are personal memories and many offerings of praise and appreciation by various devotees, available through: http://www.mayapur.info/remembrance_letters.html http://www.chakra.org/mainpages/obituaries/tkg.htm http://www.goswami.com/ Hare Krsna. His holiness Srila Tamala Krsna Gosvami Maharaja Gurudeva ki jaya! Your humble servant, MDd

kararavindena padaravindam mukharavinde vinivesayantam | vatasya patrasya pute sayanam balam mukundam manasa smarami || "With His lotus hand, He puts His lotus foot into His lotus mouth while lying on the bed of a Banyan leaf; in my mind I reflect upon Bala Mukunda."