News from Govardhan, November 21st

 News from Govardhan, November 21st

Dear devotees,

Please accept my dandavat pranams. All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga. All glories to Sri Sri Radha-Vinodebihariji.

Here is the direct translation of Srila Gurudeva's message in Hindi to the assembled devotees yesterday, after he had blessed us with one hand and with both hands. "I have brought you all here from many different parts of the world. You have all been hearing hari-katha and doing parikrama of Vraja-mandala for the past month. You are all extremely fortunate to be here. What more can I say? Tomorrow is Purnima, and you will all go back to your countries. I am inviting you all to come again next year for Kartika." Srila Gurudeva then asked the brahmacaris with him, "What else?" The brahmacaris said, "Navadvipa parikrama." Srila Gurudeva then said, "Please also come to Navadvipa parikrama. I will also be there." (That's what he said: "I will also be there.")

Yesterday, devotees presented one volume of the three-volume set of Brihad-Bhagavatamrita in English. Srila Gurudeva said, "I want to see the other two volumes personally." 

Last night, Srila Gurudeva slept quite well. Today we are celebrating the completion of the Kartika-vrata. There was a sannyasa ceremony for devotees who had already received the sannyasa mantra, especially our Rasananda Prabhu (now BV Sridhara Maharaja) and Vrajendra Nandana Prabhu (now Niskincana Maharaja). There was one unexpected addition: Krishna-kripa Prabhu from Rupa-Sanatana Gaudiya Matha is now BV Siddhanti Maharaja. Bhaktivedanta Siddhanti Maharaja kijay!

At about 12.30 am, Srila Gurudeva again gave a darshan on his steps to the assembled devotees. Devotees waited for over an hour, joining in kirtan led by BV Sridhara Maharaja. Srila Gurudeva came out onto the balcony in his wheelchair, and devotees cheered and called "Jaya Gurudeva!" ecstatically. One wonderful thing is that the feeding tube is out! Srila Gurudeva has had it for about six weeks, but Doctor Rey just took it out. Such a wonderful step forward. 

Srila Gurudeva requested Mathuravasi Damodara Prabhu to sing a kirtan, and then Srila Gurudeva addressed the devotees in English. His speech was very clear and his voice quite strong. The gist of what he said is as follows (almost the same as yesterday): "I have called you from many different countries. You have all been performing parikrama for a month. We had 18 buses and 25 cars. This year has been good." (That was an understatement, hearing that from Srila Gurudeva at the end of Kartika.) "Premananda Prabhu has made good arrangements." (That was quite surprising, because Premananda Prabhu has been in Mathura the whole of Kartika. He has also performed Govardhana parikrama every day for Srila Gurudeva's health.) "Lodging has been alright. You should all come for parikaram during Kartika next year. And if possible you can come to Navadvipa for Gauda-mandala Parikrama." Srila Gurudeva was then taken back into his quarters.

 

A Mathura astrologer who predicted Srila Vamana Maharaja's disappearance very accurately said some time ago that if Srila Gurudeva lives past November 20th (yesterday), he will be with us for some time.   

Doctor Rey told Ashrama Maharaja that, speaking simply from a medical point of view, Srila Gurudeva is "out of the danger zone" and will be here "for some time." 

 Several times duing the last six weeks, it was almost impossible to imagine seeing Srila Gurudeva in this state of health and strength at the end of Kartika. I know that Srila Gurudeva is a transcendental personality, but from a certain point of view, how he has struggled with so many painful and unpleasant situations and conditions for so long, just because his beloved devotees desire so much that he stay with us. (Srila Gurudeva said to one devotee in Delhi, "You are saying that is lila, but I am feeling pain." That does not mean that he feels pain as we feel pain, but nonetheless, Srila Gurudeva is not just pretending that he is feeling uncomfortable, to put it mildly. ) Really it is a miracle. Personally, I have to think how I will respond to this miraculous gift. 

Srila Gurudeva ki jaya! Kartika vrata ki jaya! Giriraja Govardhan ki jaya!

Aspiring for service Sri Hari, Guru and Vaishnavas,

B V Nemi

 

 

 

 

 

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