HG Aindra Prabhu I know

By Thulasi das

I’m just a child of barely three months to Vrindavan— the holiest of all holiness on earth. The moment I entered Vrindavan, I felt elated and my visits to holy places around stirred my soul deep in search for Radha-Krshna wherever I moved. When a new devotee arrives in Vrindavan, he may eagerly search for comrades in all corridors of this temple town. Everything here appears celestial, but the round the clock kirtanas gave palatable music to peace loving hearts. Hardly I knew how to play even the least of all instruments in a musical accompaniment and so I preferred to be a backbencher and sung as an outback supporter, and still I deserve only that. Morning, noon and evening I chanted in groups because that alone I knew. A few days later, I found a person clad in a simple brief dhoti (uttariyam) bound to the back of his neck and all singers gave way for him. He arrived with his harmonium hung around neck and started the kirtana: HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRSHNA KRSHNA HARE HARE / HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE. I was eager to see what was special in him and a devotee sitting near me whispered, “He is a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and sings very well.” I just wondered what was so special in singing the Mahamantra!

We were a small patch of devotees before, but as soon as Aindra Prabhu arrived, the hall in front of the temple Deities zoomed to its full capacity. A temple pujari adorned him with a thick flower garland. Started on a low pitch, Aindra Prabhu occasionally pitched high like a spell of celestial music unheard of. Interestingly, all devotees too sung in accompaniment and the entire atmosphere surcharged with an effervescent spell of spiritual awakening. Everyone looked cheerful, and men and women set to dance in style like celestials. The clumsy atmosphere changed to moments of elating spiritual glory. I felt as if surrounded by a group of celestial Gandharvas and Apsaras. I felt meek and so I too joined them and sung in group to match their splendour of spiritual ecstasy. Thereafter, whenever Aindra Prabhu arrived, I didn’t forget to reserve a backseat.

Hardly I knew Aindra Prabhu by person. One day I met him and briefly praised his splendour. He humbly acknowledged, thanked me, and left the temple on his way out for sankirtana. One day, in the morning Bhagavatam class, he was the speaker. He didn’t spare even a moment the brief spell between Srila Prabhupada Gurupuja at 7.15 AM and soon after the lecture at 8.00 AM. He and a group of devotees started to sing. Usually the lecturers sit on an elevated throne to give elated speeches. Aindra Prabhu was sitting on floor and he wasn’t even bothered to sit on the honoured raised seat. He turned to microphone facing the devotees and gave a simple and enlightening speech. I felt his simplicity a bit celestial.

On the morning of 17th July, I went to visit my Guru Maharaj Srila Radha Govinda Goswami. When I returned, Laksman Prabhu informed me the shocking news. We prepared a brief about HH and emailed to all. I have heard of perfect samadhis of Paramahamsas, but the samadhi of HH Aindra Prabhu was more glorious even beyond the reach of words to praise. Offering dandavat in front of Gaura Nitai, the prefect saintly devotee left this world to witness the eternal lilas of Radha-Govinda in Goloka Vrindavan. Such a departure, though envious even to the best of the saintly, is a great loss to the lowest of all materialists like me wandering in the mire of delusion. He was verily a great sailor to save many drowning souls in the ocean of materialism aimlessly wandering in samsara. I cursed myself that in the brief time I had, I couldn’t touch his holy feet to erase my sins. When his body arrived after post-mortem, I was at least fortunate to touch his soulless feet and prayed to that holy soul for forgiveness. Let the whole world may be blessed with is magnanimous spell of outpouring devotional kirtanas distributed through CDs. Let him be at peace forever and enjoy the blissful eternal lilas of Radha-Krishna and elate them with his blessed kirtanas. Aindaprabhu may live long in the core of the hearts of many great devotees of Vrindavan and the Vrajavasis and let the Krishna-Balaram temple continue his soul stirring divine spell of ecstatic kirtanas and awesome music.