©1997-2003 VNN
|
WORLD  Prabhupada's Departure Published In Gaudiya Magazine BY GOKUL INDIA, Dec 12 (VNN) — The announcement of Prabhupada's departure published in Gaudiya magazine Last Narayan 4, 450 of the Chaitanya era, at the end of the Thursday night, Paush 16, 1343 of the Bengali calendar, on Friday morning, January 1, 1937, the great acharya of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya and its only protector, the ninth in descent from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the best of the followers of Svarupa Damodar and Sri Rupa Goswamis, Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Om Vishnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, joined the eternal activities of Radha Govinda in the first hour of their eternal twenty-four cycle of activities. This is the same hour that his own guru, Om Vishnupada Gaura Kisora Das Babaji entered into the nitya-lila. The meaning of entering the lila at this hour is understood clearly by those who are intimate with him for it is directly experienced in their hearts, but a hint can be given here. At the end of the night, Radha and Krishna are locked in an unbreakable embrace, gadhalingana-nirbhedam aptau. Jayadeva Goswami has indicated this situation with the word naktam in the first verse of Gita-govindam which begins meghair meduram ambaram. When Radha and Krishna are joined together like this, they take on their combined form of Gaurasundara. It is this auspicious moment that Var–abhanavi-dayita Das chose to make his entry into their pastimes. Srila Prabhupada is like the sun of the Gaudiya sampradaya, as he is identical with its acharyas Rupa and Svarupa Damodar. But now that this sun of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sampradaya has set, darkness has descended not only on the preachers of the Gaudiya Math, but on the entire world. It seems that the direct light of guileless devotion will once again be hidden from the view of the world's people. Our only hope is that this luminary amongst spiritual teachers sufficiently inspired his followers with such a desire to serve the feet of the Lord, with such ever-fresh enthusiasm, and instilled in them such ideals of practice and preaching, that the stream which passed through Svarupa and Rupa and then through Bhaktivinoda Thakur will continue to gather force and flow into the world. In our hearts, we consider nothing else to be possible even in our worst imaginings. From the blessings that he gave just before passing on, we know that by adhering faithfully to his teachings and propagating them, we will be able to get his direct, personal association and will be able to find all the strength we need. Furthermore, by preaching fearlessly, with an independent spirit, and with the force of character that comes of sincere service and fidelity, we will be able to preach the gospel of Gaurasundara, our master's master, throughout the world. By so doing, we are assured that his blessings will continue to rain down on us even more profusely. This faith is the sole lampost illuminating the path of pure devotion, which is strewn with countless obstacles. We, the Gaudiya's writers, are today without shelter, as we will no longer be able to show our articles to him who was the preserver of Rupa and Raghunath's tradition. Srila Prabhupada would eagerly read every article which was to be published in the Gaudiya. He would give us blessings and show the deepest satisfaction with our efforts. Now, even though he will no longer be able to do this directly, we will not be entirely devoid of his blessings nor of the spiritual strength arising from his mercy. We are not without succor, for he left us the gift of service to those who know the doctrines of pure devotion as taught by Bhaktivinoda Thakur, and through this service we shall gain the capacity to understand his most confidential desires and doctrines. Above is an excerpt from the book "Sri Chaitanya: His Life and Associates" by Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj. For more articles on a variety of devotional topics by and about Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj and other Vaishnava authors, kindly visit http://www.sreecgmath.org or the GOKUL website at http://www.gokul.org For more information, or to subscribe to our newsletter, write to info@sreecgmath.org Contact VNN about this story  Send this story to a friend
|
