20130311 His Holiness Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami Disappearance Day Talk

The following is a talk given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on March 11th, 2013 in Śrīdhām Māyāpur, India. The talk was given on the disappearance day of His Holiness Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja.

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

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam

paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī-caitanya-īśvaram

hariḥ oṁ tat sat

I pay my respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of His Holiness Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Haribol.

I came to the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement by the will of providence in 1968. That time I saw Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja in San Francisco, but just as a visitor, I never talked to him. Then I went to see Prabhupāda in Montreal and I was sent in 1972 to India.

Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī at that time – he was a gṛhastha. He came with Śrīla Prabhupāda to Calcutta as I remember. I was made the Temple President in Calcutta and Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja – he was the first G.B.C. So he would come and I was never up to the mark, and he removed me 11 times, but Prabhupāda said, “It’s not the job of a G.B.C to remove him. You have to reform him.” And I did take the bet. But through all this somehow we could see how he was very dear to Śrīla Prabhupāda and he wanted us to really be very correct in the service of Prabhupāda. So 11th time Prabhupāda removed me ha ha and that was final and then I was sent to Māyāpur, and I became the President here.

Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja who had – last time I talked he had brought the land here. And this building is on the original land. This building and the plot there - and Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja, he really gave his heart to try to please Prabhupāda. So, I remember that he would ride with us, but sometimes he rode out on trucks because he was afraid that they would steal. Sure enough it started, they would stop at some some Sikh eating place. So the truck drivers – they invited us to take milk, and we were taking milk in a restaurant, and then someone came and told us that they are stealing your steel. So we ran out. Sure enough they were throwing steel in a ditch. So we went through the thick and thin through all the austerities and Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī, he was with us all the time.

This building was the first building we built. Do you know how much we spent? Prabhupāda said, “This is my blood.” and Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja was checking everything. Six hundred and twenty-five thousand rupees. 6 lakhs. Now one room is 6 lakhs. This whole building is 6 lakhs, and there is not a crack in the building. [Haribol] Like that for many years Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja was with us in India. Then he went to America to distribute books. Then he opened the China Mission on the order of Prabhupāda. And then he was the secretary when Prabhupāda was in his final līlā.

Prabhupāda told us that there are three levels of disciples. The highest level knows what the guru wants without him saying, the second level follows the orders of the guru perfectly, the third level follows but somehow or other. I saw in Vṛndāvana, Prabhupāda would raise his hand moving one finger. Who could understand what he wanted? Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja, He would go and open the window or close the window or do something, and 99% he was right. So I understood that he was a 1st class disciple. He was always very kind to me. When Narasiṁha Mahārāja was speaking how he would invite us to lunch, I remembered taking lunches with him. Somehow he was also on the Māyāpur planning. He was the MVT trustee. So we were still together in many ways as a G.B.C. Then he started that G.B.C’s should chant and read together. So all the meetings were finished by 2. We would have lunch and rest, and then we will all get together chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and we would read some passages. This was all done by His Holiness Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja. Gradually over the years this has disappeared, and we are back to our meetings as usual. But now we have the Kīrtana-melā which you can say is a part of his vision, that we should give more emphasis to the holy name.

He came one year to the G.B.C meetings and he was mellow, but some G.B.C’s got a little touchy with him in the break. During the break he talked to them and just for a second he showed that he was a Lion and that they should not mess with him, he is going to get back. So for the rest of the meeting everyone was very respectful, but he had a real vision to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and it’s really a great loss for us that Prabhupāda has taken him out, but Prabhupāda needs him. There is nothing that we can do. And we are happy that he is serving Prabhupāda. But this Tirobhāva is different than a Vyāsa-pūjā, because Tirobhāva is the celebration of the departure of the guru. The legacy that he left – his follower, his associates – they need to meditate to see how that can be carried out.

So this is a very important time to meditate on the great qualities of His Holiness Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja, and also how to carry on the legacy which he has left us. He showed how to serve Prabhupāda in an unparalleled way. He was a real friend also, and everything he did he did really nice.