20151217 Bhakti Svarūpa Dāmodara Mahārāja's Vyāsa Pūjā Glorification

Bhakti Svarūpa Dāmodara Mahārāja's Vyāsa Pūjā Glorification

Date:

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Collection:

Inspiration series - 2015

Audio player:

20151217_Bhakti_Svarupa_Damodara_Maharaj's_Vyasa_Puja_Glorification_Juhu_India Although I was more into preaching in the namhatta’s and the mass of people, his preaching was to the elite- to the scientists. But I had the good fortune to be present in the various big congresses that he would arrange. In some temple in Italy, so we performed the type of Panihati Chira doi mahotsav and he was trying to help to mix the chira-doi and he also distributed. And he had his unique way of chanting. So he was chanting while everyone was taking their flat rice and yogurt Prasad. Also in Italy in another Rath yatra along the coast, he would run over and start chanting, I can’t express but it was very beautiful and very heartfelt. He was jump and chant so sweetly, I was thinking how the manipuris must be gandharvas. (laugh with Jay and Haribol) But at the same time he was a fighter. And he was saying how the manipuris have their own martial arts, later I heard that the Japanese fought with Manipur and they lost. (laughter) But they still come to respect their ancestors who are buried there. (laugh) I didn’t want to get into any fight with that. I had good relationship with several of the people in the BI, and he had his own way of proceeding, kind of like a artist. So Swarup Damodar Maharaj had his way of proceeding, and he was hardly respected as a GBC, as a scientist, as a devotee. It was shocking how he suddenly left. I have some slides with different functions, and from the Prabhupada centennial there was a function is Kolkata at the science city. I think before that there was a function in Bombay. Devotee: 1986 Maharaj, 500th anniversary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ...07.00 Gurumaharaj: In the guest house between the two towers one space was ..07.35...where the BI was functioning. Once he brought me to Manipur, where Sada Govindhi...8.06... temple. And I saw the school that they had made. Also in those days, one day he would feed the Mayapur GBC’s. There were all the GBC’s in Mayapur, and there was a day I had a special Manipur feast. (laughter). All the servants had their clothe around their mouth and they wore uniforms and they served up black rice, and they served out different preparations. In fact sometimes when I meet the Manipuri’s I have them give me black rice. There was a nurse in Delhi, she was Manipuri, so I had some black rice, the secret is- put the black rice with milk, they taste like very sweet rice. You don’t naturally get berries and sweet rice but this way you get. When Swarup Damodar Maharaj was personally having his team distribute he would see that each and everybody was served properly you know. I think they were like banana leaves cut into circle, and then there were cups, banana leaf cups. Devotee: Today also the feast will be served in banana leaves (laughter) Gurumahraj: So, he was a person who had grown up in the culture, and we saw him in this picture in Atlanta. Prabhupada personally preached to him in States, and so his natural devotion became manifest. So he was a scientist from Manipur who had gone to the West, I don’t think there are too many who get their phd’s in the West, but he became a Krishna conscious devotee, and he was naturally a devotee, and that was developed by Prabhupada. When I first went to Manipur, all the ladies had tilak on. And now I heard that now there is lot of disturbance and revolution, and even in Janmasthami or some festival, some militants set up a bomb on the dias. So this things they didn’t affect Swarup Damodar Maharaj, then Krishna took him away. I can only say that having a small association with him was definitely very edifying, then he somehow or other tried to carry out Prabhupada’s orders very carefully. Hari bol.

Transcribed by: Sadananda Krishnaprem Das Date: 26-01-2016