Tirobhava homage

Tirobhava homage

to Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Swami B. B. Vishnu

namo oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

nāma-śreṣṭhaṁ manum api śacī-putram atra svarūpaṁ
rūpaṁ tasyāgrajam uru-purīṁ māthurīṁ goṣṭhavāṭīm
rādhā-kuṇḍaṁ giri-varam aho rādhikā-mādhavāśāṁ
prāpto yasya prathita-kṛpayā śrī-guruṁ taṁ nato ‘smi

So, we have heard many wonderful things — the glories of our Śrīla Prabhupāda. And these glorifications are so nice that it is difficult for myself to add to what has already been said, in terms of the significance and the glory of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s accomplishments. By virtue of these accomplishments having come about, the person of Śrīla Prabhupāda is glorified. Really his glory is that he was a pure devotee, a pure Vaiṣṇava and within his heart carried only the pure desire to please his Guru Mahārāja and our Lords Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

Earlier Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Arrival Prayer was mentioned. In his prayer he is saying how, if You want me to dance, My Lord, then I will dance. If You don’t want me to dance, then I won’t dance. This is perfectly in consonance with the last verse of the Śikṣāṣṭakam — āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām. You are my Lord, if You want to embrace me, then embrace me.

But if You want to step on me, trample me, then that is fine with me, but I am Yours — I am Your servant. Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja particularly mentioned how our Śrīla Prabhupāda so emptied himself of other desires — anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam — śūnya means zero, that there were no other desires within Śrīla Prabhupāda, other than that of his Guru Mahārāja — that of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa had to help him.

This expression of the negative was so profound and so much necessity is there that Kṛṣṇa is bound by that love. In so many places we hear of this, how Kṛṣṇa … This is the month of Kārttika, Dāmodara — the month where we pay special homage to the pastime where Kṛṣṇa was bound by the love of Mother Yaśodā — other than for this love there was no way that Kṛṣṇa could have been tied or caught.

But by the love of Mother Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa is bound. By the love of His pure devotees Kṛṣṇa is actually captured — ajita jito ‘py asi tais tri-lokyām — the unconquerable is conquered by the love within the heart of the Vaiṣṇavas.

We were hearing on the appearance day of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja a story of how one devotee was offering Kṛṣṇa a banana in great ecstacy, but was peeling it and offering the peel by mistake, but with so much love and affection. It was offered with so much real regard and heartfelt affection that Kṛṣṇa was very happy to accept and eat that peel.

And also when Raghunātha Dāsa Goswāmī was taking the neglected spoiled rice, the mahā-prasāda of Lord Jagannātha in Purī and washing it carefully and accepting that as his foodstuffs, Mahāprabhu grabbed it from his hand and thought, “what relishable thing you have.” What He was seeing was the devotion in the heart of Raghunātha Dāsa, the faith in that mahā-prasādam.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s faith in the instruction of his Guru Mahārāja, his faith in Kṛṣṇa was so absolute that he had no fear — there was no question of success or failure. His success was that he endeavored, that he did it and there was no demand. This is the nature of pure devotion, that it is rendered without any desire of compensation. Prahlāda Mahārāja has stated na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik — vaṇik means merchant, that if you want something in return, then you are simply a merchant.

So, Śrīla Prabhupāda has accomplished all so many grand spiritual things — spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. We are his sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, we are his family — we are his mercy. It has manifest within us and Śrīpād Paramadvaiti mentioned how we have some duty because of that — that we have gotten some legacy — dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyām — that in the hearts of the Vaiṣṇavas the real religious principles are hidden.

Śrīla Prabhupāda has given us those things and they are within us and it is our duty to give them to others. We have to, especially in this day and age, it has come upon us to set a proper standard. When I was a young devotee in Los Angeles going out for preaching and in those days we used to have sometimes different colored socks, so many things. We had so many different ways of doing things and we looked — ragtag.

I remember very clearly when the saṅkīrtana leader told me, “You are the representative of Śrīla Prabhupāda, you must look proper, you must act properly because it is directly a reflection upon him — how you act and how you preach and what you say — that is what the people will think of Śrīla Prabhupāda. We are his representatives and in this day and age there is so much misunderstanding amongst the Vaiṣṇavas.

There is so much criticism, most of it is properly due because of improprieties, misunderstanding and apasiddhānta — so many things are there. And it is very easy to criticize, so easy, all too easy to find fault.

So, the one message that I would like to give you today is: What service are you doing to please Śrīla Prabhupāda? What will you do to show your love, your gratitude? What service are you doing? You have gotten so much, it is such a great thing that we have, so let us do something. And let us show the right standard. Rather than simply criticize, let us do the right thing. Let us show the proper behavior of the Vaiṣṇava and in that way we are truly glorifying Śrīla Prabhupāda and our guru-paramparā. Then we are truly disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Gaura-Haribol. Śrīla Prabhupāda Ki Jaya