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WORLD December 22, 1999 VNN5129 Comment on this story WVA International Meeting BY WVA  VRINDAVAN, INDIA, Dec 22 (VNN) — The beautiful Munger Raj Mandir, which is located on the Mathura Road in Vrindavan, just opposite the WWF offices, hosted the XI International Meeting of the World Vaisnava Association. Around fifty people attended the numerous speeches at the meeting with Srila Gopananda Ban Maharaj as the chief guest. (Munger Mandir. Vrindavan) November 5th, 1999. The XI International Meeting of the WVA opened with a speech of Srila Gopananda Ban Maharaj, who is the current acharya in the mission started by Pujapada Srila Bhakti Hriday Ban Maharaj. Service to the Vaisnavas "If one is very fortunate, he gets the chance to serve the Vaisnavas and in this way cross over the ocean of material existence," Gopananda Ban Maharaj said. "It is virtually impossible to walk on the path of bhagavat dharma without the association of Vaishnavas. Therefore we should have affection in our heart for the Vaishnavas and serve them. The dust of the lotus feet of the Vaishnavas is very beneficial for us and therefore it should be treated with respect. There we will find the mercy of Sri Govinda also." Maharaj pointed out the importance of sadhu sanga. "Srila Narottam das Thakur said that the freedom we are enjoying right now is simply material life. Therefore, with the help of the Vaisnavas, we should stop this so-called freedom and surrender to Krishna. The perfect servant of Krishna serves the Vaisnavas perfectly. In this life our goal should be to serve the Vaisnavas." In conclusion Maharaj invoked the blessings of the Lord to make the WVA succesful. Better to have a diamond Srila Ksirodakasayi Vishnu Maharaj, the founder of the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, was the next speaker. Maharaj said that one day a person came to know about his attending the WVA members and remarked that the number of attendants was decreasing. Then Maharaj replied, "When Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami came to London to give a nine days Bhagavatam speech, on the first day 200 people came. On the second day only 100 people came and one person remarked that the public was decreasing. To that my gurudeva replied: I'm not selling groceries but diamonds!" "In the same way," Maharaj continued, "it is better to have a diamond. Not many people go to a jewellery for a diamond, because a diamond is expensive and rare. That was his mood. I do not care about how many people attend." This identical principle can be applied to the meetings of the World Vaisnava Association which is the revival of the Visva Vaisnava Raj Sabha originally started by Sri Jiva Goswami. Maharaj ended his speech with a humble entreat to all the Vaisnavas to spread the spirit of the WVA and increase unity in the Vainava family. The best is surrender Sri Rasabihari das spoke next as the representative of WVA Vice President Srila Bhakti Vallabha Tirtha Maharaj, the current acharya of Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math. "It is very difficult to understand the vision and mind of great Vaisnavas, and to understand them we need great mercy. The best thing for us is to surrender to the Vaisnavas, and that surrender will give us the ability to understand the mind of Sri Guru and the conclusions of the scriptures. Otherwise it is impossible." Rasabihari underlined that now the WVA is an integrant part of the Vaisnava world. He expressed heartfelt words of appreciation for the intense dedication to the WVA ideals of the former WVA Secretary (1994-1998), Swami BA Paramadvaiti. Rasabihari said, "The WVA is not a creation of one person, or plainly said, it is not the responsibility of just one person, but Srila Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Maharaj has been chosen by Sri Jiva Goswami to be a very important instrument in this attempt." Friends and enemies Swami BV Parivrajak, the founder President of Acintya, addressed the last speech by retelling the lila of Prahlad Maharaj. "Just before the appearance of Lord Narasinghadeva, the evil Hiranyakashipu had tried to kill his own son. At that time Prahlad preached to his father. He told him that besides the six enemies produced by the mind (lust, anger, greediness, madness, illusion and envy), there are actually no enemies. In the same way if we are thinking that I shall participate in the World Vaishnava Association only if my friends are there, then we are wrong. Friends and enemies are only the fruit of our mental speculation." Maharaj pointed out that only one institution and one guru will not be able to fulfill completely the prediction of Mahaprabhu. "The WVA should be accepted as our concern, as we like to see the development of the grand mission of Mahaprabhu from village religion to world religion, lest we should think that Mahaprabhu's plan was only meant for the deliverance of Bengal and Orissa." In the end Maharaj announced the reappearance of the WVA Magazine which was originally started by Bhakti Prakash Hrsikesh Maharaj, the founder of the Chaitanya Mudrani mission in Malaysia. Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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