20070428 Śrī Vyāsa-Pūjā Adhivāsa Address

Following is a Vyāsa-pūjā Adhivāsa address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja on April 28^th, 2007 at Śrī Māyāpur, India.

oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yenatasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya, kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin, iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve, gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho, dīna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta, rādhā-kānta namo  istu te

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ, paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande, śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavaṁ, śrī-caitanya-īśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! Is there any Russian translation going on? Anywhere? Raise your hand if you are translating, anyone? Russian Translator? Español? I will speak in Bengali and English. I need a translator; I tried but nobody responded.

So, today, the disciples perform the adhivāsa ceremony. This system is given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and the Six Gosvāmīs. Some important ceremonies are performed on the day of adhivāsa to prepare our minds, our consciousness as it is said to make the determination that we are going to seriously observe the following day ceremony. This is a serious ceremony meant for spiritual upliftment.

I consider myself a humble sādhaka performing devotional service for the pleasure of my spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. I am trying to represent Śrīla Prabhupāda. So, in this way, tomorrow I pray that whatever worship is offered, or whatever respects and offerings, I offer everything to the lotus feet of Śrīla Prabhupāda, to the guru-paramparā, to Lord Kṛṣṇa, to Vyāsadeva and Kṛṣṇa that they may accept. We were reading in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Lord is very merciful, He appears to us externally as the dīkṣā-guru or the guru, ācārya – dīkṣā or śikṣā-guru, and internally He appears as caitya-guru.

In these two forms, external – the spiritual master, internal – the caitya-guru, we get protection. We have to shelter of the guru in order to cross over Māyā, the illusion. We offer our service to Kṛṣṇa, to the spiritual master and the guru-paramparā. Whatever we offer to the spiritual master with devotion, he kindly accepts it, he offers it to his spiritual master who offers to His, to His, to His, So, in this way it goes up to the guru-paramparā, to Vyāsadeva, to Kṛṣṇa.

So, this is the idea to see that guru as a person that he is also representing the entire disciplic succession. The Māyāvādīs, they do guru-pūjā all on the same day – Guru-Pūrṇimā. Sanātana Gosvāmī appears at Guru-Pūrṇimā but the Vaiṣṇavas, they do guru-pūjā, they do Vyāsa-pūjā on the appearance day of the guru. Prabhupāda said that this ceremony is good to get rid of any offence we have made against guru. (Vyāsa-pūjā day kī jaya!) [Aside: They like that?] (laughter) But you should not do more offences. (laughter) There is no need to do more offences We avoid offences but sometimes it happens.

Lord Caitanya observed Vyāsa-pūjā for Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda knowing that Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa, he offered all the worship of Vyāsa-pūjā also to Lord Caitanya. So, like that whenever service is offered, we offer that to the guru-paramparā. So, this is our system. This is a day for meditating on our guru-disciple relationship. How we can serve our guru better? How we can go deeper in our relationship? How we can advance to get the mercy of guru-paramparā in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Prabhupāda taught the devotees that there is no one to teach us. He taught us how to do Vyāsa-pūjā. Those days it was fairly simple. He told them that they have to make offerings of the bhoga, puṣpāñjali. We heard from His Holiness Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja. One day he was in Japan on his way to India. They forgot to do puṣpāñjali. So, that time Prabhupāda was very upset, “Vyāsa-pūjā is not complete. You did not do puṣpāñjali. You have to do Vyāsa-pūjā again tomorrow.” Double (Vyāsa-pūjā), it is not complete. (laughter)

Then, we heard some detail from Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja. Prabhupāda said, “You have to do puṣpāñjali.” But they do not know what puṣpāñjali is? So, they thought, they had heard of puṣpānna, that is spiced rice with vegetables, puṣpānna. (laughter) So, here the disciples are offering in a more elaborate way – pūjās and upacāras and abhiṣekas. But the core issue is the same. We are affirming our surrender to guru and Prabhupāda and the guru-paramparā. We should all be mentally prepared. So, tomorrow will be a very deep experience for all of you. Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! (jaya!) Hare Kṛṣṇa.